LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

AT  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 

liUNffiS  HISTORICAL  SURVEY 

630 
P934m 


L.  j.  it  ^ESSEN; 

THE 


MODEL  FARMS 


THEIR  METHODS; 

GIVIXG   THE 

EXPERIENCES  OF  OVER  ONE  HUNDRED  SUCCESSFUL  FARMERS 
IN   THE  VARIOUS    BRANCHES  OF  HUSBANDRY  IN   DIF- 
FERENT   PORTIONS    OF    THE    COUNTRY;    STOCK 
RAISING  ;     FRUIT   GROWING;     DAIRYING  ; 
TILE  DRAINAGE ;  COST  AND  PROFITS 
OF  MIXED  HUSBANDRY,  ETC. 


OVEK  ONE  HUNDKED  ILLUSTEATIONS 


PLANS  OF  BUILDINGS. 


EDITED   BY   SAMUEL   T.   K.   PRIME. 


CHICAGO: 
A.   KNOBEL   &   COMPANY,   PUBLISHERS, 

45  S.  LASALLE  STREET. 
1881. 


COPTKIOHT, 

BY  RICHARD  R  DONNELLKY, 

1880. 


DONNELLKY.  QASSBTTB  &  LOYD, 
PRINTERS. 


JUTTQBLUT,   HKNPaCKS    &   CO 
BLECTROTYPERS. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE. 

BARNS 220,  479,  539,  559,  563,  637,  639,  729,  755,  771,  787 

Cellar 529 

Cow 253 

Frame  of 241 

Section  of 540 

Stock 275 

BEE  GARDEN _. 759 

BUILDINGS  IN  GENERAL,  7,  73,   101,  125,  167,  178,  237,  252,  344, 

355,  365*  375.  6°7,  675,  676,  786 

Cook  House 181 

Dairy  House 213,  322 

Hen  House 23,254,  728 

Sheep  House 254,  757 

Wagon  House _ 255 

CORRALLS,  SHEEP 342,  386 

Cows,  HEREFORD - 281 

CRIBS,  CORN 221,252,260,505,526,  771 

Feeding 444 

Self-Feeding 20,  405 

''ARMS,  7,  73,  101,  115,  178,  249,  309,  311,  355,  365,  375,  382,  482 

524,  607,  614,619,  769 

Division  of 171,  582 

Fruit 107 

GRANARIES 260,  561 

GROUNDS 237 

HAY: 

OVENS 590 

Rake 509 

Sheds 23 

Stackers 438,  462,  507 

HOG  PENS. .41,  253,  321,  420,  448,  477,  483,  506,  530,  539,  727,  754 

Pens  Combined 260,261,505,526,527,  551 

RACKS,  CATTLE 779 

Portable — ._ 10 

Sheep 35,  749,  751,  779 

WIND-MILL 528 


TO    THE    READER. 


THE  MODEL  FARMS  AND  THEIR  METHODS  has  been  written  and 
compiled  as1  a  Common-sense  Hand-book  for  Farmers;  and,  while 
numerous  and  useful  books  have  been  published  on  the  different 
branches  of  agriculture,  it  is  "obvious  that  the  PLAN  of  this  book 
is  ENTIRELY.  NEW.  It  must  be  admitted,  too,  that  the  book  itself 
is  thoroughly  practical  and-  useful. 

Observation  of  different  "  methods  "  in  any  branch  of  business, 
and  interchange  of  thought  among  practical,  men,  lead  to  the  best 
results.  The  object  of  the  book  is  to  place  before  its  readers  only 
the  approved  and  the  best  "methods'-  in  Husbandry.  No  theorizing 
is  given,  every  article  being  a  clear  statement  of  some  system  which 
has  been  thoroughly  tested  arid  found  valuable  in  the  EXPERIENCES 
OP  OVER  ONE  HUNDRED  FARMERS  in  different  parts  of  the  country. 
Not  a  line  of  matter  in  the  book  is  selected  or  culled,  every  article 
having  been  originally  prepared  for  it  by  the  contributor  whose 
name  appears  as  such. 

No  pretension  to  literary  merit  is  made,  the  "  methods  "  being 
described  in  the  language  used  by  the  narrator,  so  as  to  be  easily 
understood  by  practical  men.  No  article  has  been  changed  to 
adapt  itself  to  the  notions  of  the  editor,  or  to  the  theories  of  any 
person.  Nor  do  we  hold  ourselves  responsible  for  the  differences 
in  these  "  methods,"  as  they  are  from  the  pens  of  men  of  varied 
experience. 

The  editor  has  been  impartial  as  to  the  implements  used,  the 
stock  recommended,  and  the  methods  described,  as  they  are  all 
from  the  actual  experience  of  contributors;  and  the  character  of 


jy  TO  THE  READER. 

the  men  who  have  furnished  the  "  Methods "  is  a  guarantee  of  their 
usefulness  and  reliability. 

The  reader  will  readily  see  the  value  of  the  information  the 
book  contains  on  any  particular  branch,  and  adopt  the  method 
best  suited  to  his  own  situation.  To  beginners  the  book  is  invalu- 
able, as  it  gives  full  information  in  every  branch,  and  by  following 
its  teachings,  they  can  readily  overcome  obstacles  which  might 
otherwise  cost  them  much  outlay  of  time  and  money.  To  those 
seeking  homes  in  the  Far  West,  it  will  prove  a  safe  and  useful 
guide. 

The  index  is  very  full,  and  has  been  prepared  with  great  care; 
so  the  reader  may  easily  refer  to  the  "  methods  "  of  different  con- 
tributors on  any  subject,  in  any  part  of  the  book. 

In  presenting  this  work  to  farmers  we  feel  confident  they 
will  appreciate  our  efforts  to  give  them  a  useful  and  valuable 
compendium  of  information. 

THE  EDITOR. 


CONTENTS. 


ILLINOIS. 

PAGE. 

CHARLES  M.  CULBERTSON,  Newman,  Douglass  County.— 
Stock  Farm  —  Buildings  —  Fields  —  Hereford  Cattle  — 
How  and  When  to  Breed  —  Rearing  of  Calves  and  Bulls  — 
Portable  Feed  Racks  for  Cattle,  -  5 

HENRY  CHAPMAN,  Sugar  Grove,  Kane  County.— Land  Needs 
Rest — Clover  Head  and  Shoulders  Above  All  Other  Ferti- 
lizers —  Never  Cut  Twice  in  the  Same  Year  —  Hogs,  Their 
Feed  and  Management — Short-Horns,  Devons,  Here'fords 
— Sheep — Dairy,  1 1 

E.  J.  JEFFRESS,  Marine,  Madison  County. — Breed  Nothing 
but  the  Very  Best  Stock  Horses  and  Sheep — Pastures  and 
Hay — Poultry — Self  Feeding  Rack — Hay  Shed — Hennery,  19 

ELI  EDDEMAN,  Dongola,  Union  County.— Successful  Winter 
Wheat  Farming  in  "  Egypt " — A  Country  Well  Adapted  for 
Horticulture,  -  24 

DAVID  C.  GRAHAM,  Cameron,  Warren  County.— Thirty-six 
Gates  on  the  Farm  None  too  Many — Clover  and  Timothy 
the  Best  Adapted  to  our  Prairies  —  Best  Time  to  Cut  — 
Treatment  of  Pasture  and  Meadow  Land,  27 

ROBERT  MILNE,  Lockport,  Will  County.— Durham  Cattle- 
Poland  China  Hogs  —  Tile  Drainage  —  Blessing  to  the 
whole  State,  -  -  30 

GEORGE  CAREY,  Rochelle,  Ogle  County.  —  Sheep  Farm  — 
How  to  Make  a  Flock  of  Good  Sheep— High  Grade  Merino 
Ewes — Full  Blooded  Long  Wool  Rams  the  Best  Sheep  for 
Mutton  and  Wool — Plan  for  Feeding  Rack,  33 

N.  C.  GILBERT,  Geneseo,  Henry  County.  —  No  Field  under 
Cultivation  More  than  Five  Years — Fifty  Bushels  of  Corn 
and  Two  Tons  of  Hay  per  Acre  —  Movable  Self-Feeder 
for  Stock — Merino  Sheep — Tile  Drainage,  -  -36 


viii  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

JAMES  ANDERSON  AND  HENRY  K.  SMITH,  Magnolia, 
Putnam  County. — Hog  Farm  and  Hog  House — Never  Had 
Hog  Cholera !  Why  ?  Soap  Suds  Freely  Used  in  Swill 
— Clover  and  Oats  both  Valuable  and  Superior  Feed — 
Much  Pleased  with  Artichokes,  39 

MARK  L.  HUGHS,  Olmstead,  Pulaski  County.— Winter  Wheat 

Farm — Durham  Cattle — Sheep  and  Hogs,  42 

J.  H.  OAKWOOD,  Cat/in,  Vermillion  County.— Handles  Thor- 
ough Bred  Horses,  Short-Horns,  High  Grade  Berkshire 
Hogs  and  Cotswold  Sheep — No  Dogs — The  Orchard  a 
Sacred  Spot — Pole  Drains,  -15 

THOMAS  A.  POTTINGER,  Peru,  LaSalle  County.  —  Sold 
Whenever  a  Crop  was  Fit  for  Market — Believes  in  Good 
Shelter  for  Stock— The  Windmill  an  Absolute  Necessity — 
Tile  Drainage  the  Best  Investment  a  Farmer  Can  Make  — 
Cheap  Plan  for  Laying  Tile — A  Fortune  and  a  Happy  Home,  49 

G.  W.  MINIER,  Minier,  Tazewell  County. — A  Good  Farmer — 
Happy  and  Prosperous — Tree  Planting — Orchards — Vine- 
yard— Farm  Teams — Mules  the  Best  for  All  Work — Fowls 
— Drainage — Farm  Buildings — Mixed  Husbandry — Man- 
agement of  Stock — Dairying — Land— Sheep  the  Most 
Profitable,  -  55 

GEORGE  P.  WEBER,  Pawnee,  Sangamon  County.— Methods 
of  Mixed  Husbandry — Reasons  for  Naming  a  Farm — System 
— Holstein  Cattle — Cotswold  Sheep — Berkshire  Swine — 
Horses  —  Firm  Believer  in  Rotation  of  Crops  —  Never 
Grows  More  than  Three  Crops  of  Corn  on  the  Same  Ground 
in  Succession — Trims  Hedge  Twice  a  Year,  63 

E.  A.  GILLER,  Whitehall,  Greene  County.— Plowing  "Haw" 
Made  a  Pond  of  It — Plowing  "Gee"  and  Tile  Draining 
Have  Made  it  one  of  the  Most  Profitable  Farms  in  the 
State — How  to  Tile  a  Farm,  -  -66 

H.  W.  DAVIS,  Decatur,  Macon  County- — Mixed  Husbandry — 
Tiling  Working  Out  the  Road  Problem  —  Feed  on  the 
Farm  all  the  Grass  Grown — No  Cure  for  Hog  Cholera,  But 
a  Big  Preventive,  72 

NOAH  WEBSTER,  Bible  Grove,  Clay  County.— Stock  Raising 
—  Methods  of  Growing  Winter  Wheat  —  When  to  Plow 
and  to  Sow  —  Clean  Seed  —  Force  Drill  —  Good  Open 
Drains — Spreads  Manure — Good  Crops  and  Fair  Profits 
the  Results — Never  Sow  Grass  Seed  When  there  is  Snow 
on  the  Ground — Horses,  Hogs  and  Sheep,  78 


CONTENTS.  ix 

PAGE. 

PETER  R.  PARSELL,  Jerseyville,  Jersey  County.  —  Success- 
ful Farmer — All  Stock  Fed  on  the  same  Principle — Ready 
for  Market  the  same  time — Valuable  Suggestions — How  to 
Breed  Horses  and  Mules — How  to  Make  an  Osage  Fence 
— Winter  Wheat  and  Corn  Culture — Dairy — Management 
of  Short  Horns,  -  82 

AARON  BUNN,  Clay  City,  Clay  County.— Com  Culture— Shelter 
for  Stock — Self  Feeder — Profits  come  in  Regularly — Hogs 
— Never  Sells  any  Corn — Wheat  Culture — Tame  Grasses 
and  their  Management,  -  89 

A.  G.  CALDWELL,  Island  Grove,  Jasper  County.  —  Stock 
Farm — Most  Successful  With  Grade  Cattle — Corn — Wheat 
— Fruit — Fish — Thorough  Systematic  Under  Drainage  only 
Needed  for  the  Full  Development  of  Jasper  County,  -  92 

C.  CROUCH,  Belle  Prairie,  Hamilton  County — Pioneer  Farm- 
ing in  1821 — Bear  and  Deer  in  Abundance — Panthers  and 
Wildcats — The  County  now  One  Vast  Winter  Wheat  Field,  95 

SAMUEL  PRESTON,  Mount  Carroll,  Carroll  County.— Pres- 
ton Prairie  Settlement — The  "  Grout  "  House — Cost  of 
Raising  Grain — Uses  Cistern  Water  for  Horses — Sheep 
Special  Favorites — Management  of  the  Flock — Artificial 
Fish  Culture — Orchards — No  Big  Farms,  but  Big  Farming 
— A  Beautiful  Country,  -  -  100 

GEORGE  W.  ENDICOTT,  Villa  Ridge,  Pulaski  County.— 
Apple  Orchard — Trees  Thoroughly  Cultivated  Five  or  Six 
Years — Pear  Orchard  Planted  on  Level  Ground  the  Best — 
Crop  Sure  and  Profitable — The  Vineyard — The  Main  Vine 
Should  Grow  Free — Cultivate  Thorough  but  Shallow — 
Whitewash  a  Great  Help  to  the  Vines — Strawberries — 
Plants  Set  in  Squares — Worked  by  Horse  Power — Peach 
Orchard  —  Fruit  Gathered  by  Hand  —  Sweet  Potatoes — 
Farm  Implements — Result — Fair  Profit  on  an  Improving 
Property,  -  106 

SAMUEL  DYSART,  Franklin  Grove,  Lee  County.— Mole  Drains 
Not  Durable — Forestry — Soil  and  Grasses — Mixed  Hus- 
bandry— Sowing  Salt  on  Wheat  Land  Highly  Recom- 
mended— Rotation  of  Crops — Manner  of  Seeding  Grass 
Lands — Gray  Willow  Hedges  —  Orchards  —  Home  —  Live 
Stock — High  Feeding,  --  113 

SAMUEL  T.  K.  PRIME,  Dwight,  Livingston  County.— Some 
of  My  Methods — Management  of  Hogs — A  Small  Flock  of 
Sheep  and  Their  Profit — What  Tiling  Has  Done,  -  123 


x  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

ELI  UPTON,  Morrison,  Whiteside  County. — The  Observations 
of  a  Lifetime — Corn  Culture — Smut — Black  Leg  and  Foot 
Rot — Dairying  and  the  Feed  for  Milch  Cows,  -  -  130 

V.  P.  RICHMOND,  Moro,  Madison  County. — Prairie  Home 
Farm — Mixed  Husbandry — Pastures  and  Meadows — Grain 
— Devon  Cattle — Sheep — Essex  Swine — Fruit — Poultry — 
Drainage,  -  134 

EDWARD  WHITTLETON,  Barry,  Pike  County.  —  Winter 
Wheat  and  Corn  Culture — Rotation  of  Crops — Manure 
Spread  at  All  Seasons  of  the  Year — Good  Drainage — Hogs,  138 

C.  C.  BUEL,  Rock  Falls,  Whiteside  County. — How  to  Make 

Cheap  Cow  Stables,  142 

AMOS  M.  EBERSOL,  Ottawa,  LaSalle  County.— Mixed  Hus- 
bandry— Stock  and  Grain — Value  of  Tree  Planting — Bees 
and  Honey — Poultry — Tile  Drainage,  -  -  144 

C.  W.  ALLISON,  Milledgeville,  Carroll  County.  —  Grain  and 
Stock  Farm — How  to  Han'dle  Barley — Corn  Culture — Fall 
Plowing  Strongly  Advised — Devons  Recommended — Berk- 
shires  and  Poland  Chinas  Crossed — Horses  and  Dairying,  151 

C.  L.  HOSTETTER,  Mount  Carroll,  Carroll  County.— Short 
Horns — Roots — Pasture — Pure  Water — Good  Shelter  and 
No  Medicine  the  Best  Preventive  of  Hog  Cholera  —  Berk- 
shire Hogs  and  Their  Management — Fish  Culture,  -  154 

LORENZO  D.  WHITING,  Tiskilwa,  Bureau  County. — Nox- 
ious Weeds — Canada  Thistles — Quack  Grass  and  White 
Daisies — Urgent  and^ Prompt  Necessity  for  Their  Extermi- 
nation— How  It  Can  Be  Done — The  Switch  Gate — Stanch- 
ions For  Cows  and  Yard  For  Wintering  Stallions,  -  157 

H.  A.  COLLINS,  Havana,  Mason  County.  —  Grain  Farm  — 
Corn  Culture — Planking  the  Ground  Puts  it  in  Fine  Con- 
dition— *How  to  Gather  and  Where  to  Keep  Seed  Corn  — 
Cheap  Open  Ditch — Rye  Plowed  Under  a  Valuable  Manure,  165 

W.  W.  THORNTON,  Shelbyville,  Shelby  County.— The  Redemp- 
tion of  an  Old  Neglected  Farm  —  Treatment  of  Meadows 
and  Pasture  Land — Large  Crops  of  Wheat  and  Grass,  -  170 

DANIEL  W.  SEDWICK,  Suez,  Mercer  County— Cost  and 
Manner  of  Raising  Corn — Burns  His  Corn  Stalks — Harrows 
the  Ground  Thoroughly  and  Never  Fails  to  Raise  a  Large 
Crop — Meadows  and  Pastures — Sheep — Hogs — Tile  Ditch- 
ing and  Its  Cost  Per  Rod,  -  177 

A.  C.  HAMMOND,  Warsaw,  Hancock  County.  —  Orchard  — 
Ben  Davis  the  Most  Popular  Apple  —  Pears  —  Cherries 
— Plums — Grape  Fever — Fruit  and  Vegetable  Garden — 
Value  of  Evergreens  for  Hedges — Hay  Crop,  -  -  183 


CONTENTS.  xi 

PAGE. 

H.  K.  MARSTON,  Onarga,  Iroquois  County. — Successful  Corn 
Culture — How  Twelve  Thousand  Bushels  of  Corn  were 
Raised  from  One  Hundred  and  Sixty  Acres  —  Culture  of 
Small  Fruit,  -  187 

O.  B.  JENNE,  Elgin,  Kane  County.—  Dairy  Cow— Her  Pasture 
—  Dairy  Barn  and  Its  Construction  —  Rearing  of  Calves  — 
Best  Way  to  Market  Milk,  -  194 

GEORGE  W.  DEAN,  Adams,  Adams  County.— Depends  upon 
Hogs  and  Corn  for  Profit — Constant  Aim  to  keep  the  Land 
in  a  High  State  of  Cultivation,  -  198 

JESSE  W.  FELL,  Normal,  McLean  County.— Willow  Hedges, 

or  Salix  Alba,  -  -  202 

D.  GOW,  Cobden,  Union  County, — Fruit  Gardening — Operated 

Upon  Shares  —  Cold  Frames  —  Flue  Hot  Bed  —  Lettuce — 
Enemies  of  Plant  Life  —  Remedy  —  How  to  Pack  Fruit 
Honestly — Spinach,  -  -  204 

L.  BACON,  Wauconda,  Lake  County. — Dairy  Farm — Jersey  Cat- 
tle— Manner  of  Feeding  a  Dairy  Cow — How  the  Milk  is 
Handled  and  the  Butter  is  Made  —  Milk  Room  —  Drain- 
age— Open  Ditches — Board  and  Tile  Drains,  -  -  211 

H.  J.  WHITMORE,  Canton,  Fulton  County.— Boards  Better  than 
Rail  Fences —  Rolls  and  Harrows  the  Corn  Ground  Before 
Planting — Drainage,  -  -  -  217 

J  C.  WARE,  Mahomet,  Champaign  County. — Corn — Wheat — 
Oats  —  Pasture  and  Clover  —  Crops  more  than  Doubled 
From  Tile  Draining — Hogs  and  Their  Management,  -  221 

JAMES  M.  GALE,  Bristol,  Kendall  County.  —  Soil  —  Con- 
struction of  the  House — Boss  Churn — How  to  Make  Barn 
Frames — Dirt  Floors — Corn  and  Potato  Culture  —  Man- 
agement of  Hogs  and  Cattle — Cost  and  Prices  of  Farm 
Products,  -  235 

T.  H.  BARR,  Argenta,  Macon  County. — Successful  Management 

of  Hogs  on  Common  Sense  Principles — Artichokes — Sheep,  245 

CYRUS  SMITH,  Canton,  Fulton  County.  —  Well  Drained  and 
Improved  Farm — Converts  most  of  the  Grain  into  Beef — 
Horses,  Cattle,  Hogs  and  Sheep,  -  248 

R.  C.  MUNGER,  Chebanse,  Iroquois  County.  —  Shallow  Plow- 
ing Recommended  for  Corn  —  Hog  House  —  Flax  Cul- 
ture —  Mules,  -  -  255 

E.  M.  BOUTON,  Galena,  Jo  Daviess  County.— Stock  Farm  — 

Best  Feed  for  Fattening  Cattle  —  Cost  of  Raising  a  Three- 
year-old  Steer  —  Care  of  Breeding  Cows  —  Treatment  of 
Meadows  —  Hay  Sweep  —  Variety  of  Food  Recommended 
for  Hogs,  -  -  262 


xii  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

A.  J.  STREETER,  New  Windsor,  Mercer  County.— Stock  Farm 
of  Twenty-Five  Hundred  Acres — My  Three  Rules — Valu- 
able Herd  of  Short-Horns  —  Best  Stock  the  Cheapest  — 
When  to  Sell  Stock,  -  -  -  269 

A.  P.  CHARLES,  Knoxville,  Knox  County..—  Convenient  Barn,  27$ 

P.  E.  MICHAELES,  Poplar  Ridge,  Jackson  County.  —  Com- 
mon Sense  Applied  to  Farming — Wheat  —  Corn  —  Care 
of  Horses  and  Cattle  —  Good  Living,  -'.  ^  -  -  276 

T.    L.    MILLER,    Beecher,   Wil(   County.  -^  Herefdrd  "Cattle, 

Cotswold  Sheep,  and  Berkshire  Hogs,     -    •  '    -      -278 

NELSON  JONES,  Tow anda,  McLean  County.  —Cattle,  Sheep 
and  Hogs  —  Manner  of  Seeding  for  Pasture  and.  Meadows 
—  A  Stock  Farm,  '.  -  282 

GEORGE"  A.  TRUE,  Waltham,  LaSalle  County.  —  Corn  and 
Manner  of  Culture  —  Never  Lost  a  Crop  in  Twenty  Years 
How  to  Select  Hogs —Their  Feed  and  Care,  -  -  285 

R.  S.  HOOPER,  Bristol,  Kendall  County.  —  A  Dairy  -Farm  - 
Makes  Gilt   Edge   Butter   from    Graded    Short-Horns  — 
Clover  the  Farmer's  Friend,  -       290 

MILO  BARNARD,  Kankakee,  Kankakee  County.  —  Fruit  and 
Timber  Growing — First  Mistake  of  Planting  Eastern  Va- 
rieties—  Twenty  Feet  Too  Close  to  Plant  Apple  Trees  — 
Cherry  Trees  Much  Better  Without  Cultivation  —  Vineyard 
of  Concord  Grapes — Strawberry  Culture  —  Actual  Meas- 
urement of  Growth  of  Timber  —  Planting  and  Cultivation,  293 


KANSAS. 

R.  J.  WEMYSS,  Abilene,  Clay  County. — Manager  of  the  Kansas 
Wheat  Land  Trust  —  Winter  Wheat  Farm  on  the  Con- 
tract System,  -  302 

JOHN  F.  HILL,  Oswego,  Labette  County.  —Model  Home  in 
Ten  Years  —  Yoke  of  Oxen  the  Foundation  —  First  Wheat 
Crop — Methods — Hard  Labor — Perseverance  and  Econ- 
omy, -  303 

J.  L.  HODGES,  Frankfort,  Marshall  County.— How  to  Plant 
and  Trim  Osage  Hedge — How  to  Arrange  Prairie  Farm 
— Winter  Wheat  Culture,  -  310 

F.  A.  FENTON,  Indianola,  Butler  County.— How  to  Keep  Pas- 
tures Fresh  and  Green — Butter — Rearing  of  Calves — Hogs 
—Millet — Climate,  -  -  -  -  314 


CONTENTS.  xiii 

PAGE. 

C.  B.  SPAULDING,  Hillsdale,  Miami  County.  — The  .Culture  of 
Corn  and  Winter  Wheat — Graded  Durhams — :The  Poland- 
China  and  Berkshire  Cross  Recommended — Best  Time  to 
Breed  Sows  and  What  to  Feed  —  Meadows — Dairy — Poultry 
—Fruit,  -  .  317 

ALBERT  MOLER,  Mineral  Point,  Anderson  County.  —  Stock 
Farm — Three  Hundred  Acres  in  Corn— High  Grade  Cattle 
the  Most  Profitable — Good  Shelter  but  Not  Confinement 
Recommended— Kentucky  Blue  Grass  a  Success,  -  324 

GEORGE' HAY,  Seheca,  Nemaha  County.  —  Stock  Farm  Made 
in -Five' Years^ Arrangement  of  Yards  and  Sheds,  Feed 
Racks  and  Troughs — Poland  China  Hogs — Culture  of  Corn 
and  Winter  Wheat  '^—  Graded  Durhams  —  Poland  China 
and  Berkshire  Recommended — Treatment  of  Meadpws —  , 
Dairy — Poultry — Fruit,  -  -  •  -  327 

ANSON  S.  COOK,  Beloit,  Mitchell  County.— Mixed  Husbandry 
— Cost  Per  Acre  of  Growing  Winter  Wheat — Oats — Corn 
and  vFruit— Management  and  Breeding  of  Hogs  and  Farm 
Horses — It  Pays  to  Push  All  Young  Stock  as  Fast  as  Good 
Food  and  Good  Care  Will  Do  It,  -  331 

W.  S.  GILE,  Venarigo,  Ellsworth  'County. — Tree  Culture  as  a 
Protection  to  Crops — Winter  Wheat  and  Corn — The  Latter 
the  Best  Crop — Sheep  Interest  Increasing — Climate,  -  337 

WILLIAM  L.  CHALLIS,-  Atchison,  Atchison  County. — Personal 
Reminiscences — :No  Grain  Raised  on  the  Farm — Clover  the 
Principal  Grass — Sheep  Corrals — Cattle  Barns — Piggery — 
Infirmary  —  Slaughter  House  —  Advantages  of  Northern 
Kansas  for  Stock  Raising,  -  340 

ADAM  HEATER,  Highland,* Doniphan  County.— What  Has 
Been  Accomplished  in  Two  Years  —  Buildings  —  Fences  — 
Groves  —  Forty-five  Bushels  of  Winter  Wheat  to  the  Acre 
—  Each  Day  Has  Its  Own  Work,  -  348 

JOHN  HODGINS,  Centralia,  Nemaha  County.— Took  Horace 
Greeley's  Advice  —  Adventure  with  the  Indians  —  Seven 
Thousand  Trees  Make  a  Beautiful  Park  and  Grove  — 
Method  of  Tree  Culture — Corn  the  Best  Crop  —  Raising 
Fowls  Profitable,  -  354 

R.  L.  GILBERT,  Chester,  Jefferson  County.  —  Delaware  Re- 
serve—  Stock  —  Care  and  Feed  of  Sheep  —  Fruits,  -  359 

EZRA  CRANE,  Stafford,  Stafford  County.  —  Feeding  Corn - 

Clod  Crusher  —  Plans  —  Potatoes  —  Wheat — Hogs,       -       363 


xiv  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

GEORGE  S.  FUNK,  Richland,  Harvey  County.— Makes  Butter 
— Finds  it  Profitable — Prefers  Graded  Cows — Alternates 
Grain  with  Stock,  -  368 

ENOCH  W.  POOR,  Myrtle,  Phillips  County.— Started  only  with 
Brains — Yoke  of  Texas  Steers — Sod  Barn — Cut  Millet 
Recommended  as  Excellent  Food  for  Young  Hogs,  -  370 

JESSE  L.  SHORE,  Camden,  Morris  County— Location  of  Farm 
— Horse  and  Cattle  Yard — Wheat  Raising — What  Stock  to 
Keep,  -  -  373 

GEORGE  N.  NICHOLS,  Delphos,  Cloud  County.— Important 
Facts  With  Regard  to  the  Opening  and  Location  of  New 
Farms,  -  -  378 

WILLIAM  LOCKARD,  Lodi,  Barbour  County.  —  Cattle  Ranch 
— Branding  —  Round-Ups  —  Income — Amusements — Hos- 
pitality, -  381 

CHARLES  WILLIAMSON,  Washington,  Washington  County. 
— Mixed  Husbandry  the  Most  Profitable — When  and  How  to 
Sow-  Winter  Wheat — Oats  and  German  Millet — Bees — 
Keep  Them  Well  Filled  with  Winter  Stores  —  Garden  — 
Fruit  —  Sheep  and  Hogs,  -  -  388 

I.  R.  PIERCE,  White  Cloud,  Doniphan  County.  —  Most  Advan- 
tageous Manner  of  Planting  Trees,  -  398 

H.  G.  POTTER,  Beulah,  Crawford  County.  —  Stock  Farm- 
Self  Feeding-Corn  Crib,  -  404 

W.  H.  GILL,  Larned,  Pawnee  County. — Winter  Wheat — Cost  of 
Raising  the  Crop — Rye — Dairying — Climate  and  Advan- 
tages, ...  -  406 

JAMES    SCHOFIELD,    Girard,    Crawford  County.  —  Sheep 

Farm — Durham  Cattle — Fuel — Fruit — Corn  Culture,      -       409 

I.  HODGINS,  Centralia,  Nemaha  County. — How  to  Raise  Stock 
— Hay  Rack — Feeding — Stock — Dairying — Sheep — Sheep 
Rack,  -  412 

D.  W.  KINGSLEY,  Independence,  Montgomery  County. — Castor 

Beans — Broom  Corn,      -  -       415 

JAMES  C.  MARSHALL,  La  Cygne,  Linn  County.  — Grain  — 

Cattle  —  Hogs  —  Stone  —  Osage  Hedge  —  Sulky  Plows,       419 

W.  J.  F.  HARDEN,  Hartford,  Lyon  County.— Potatoes— Grapes 
—  Small  Fruits  —  Cherries  —  Apples  —  Wheat  —  Corn  and 
Millet — Barn— Stock,  -  422 


CONTENTS.  xv 


IOWA. 

PAGE. 

I.  C.  CURRIER,  Salix,  Woodbury  County.  —  Opening  of  a 
Stock  Farm — Cost  of  First  Breaking  and  the  First  Crop — 
How  to  Feed  Cattle  —  Profit  of  Sheep  —  Hogs,-  -  427 

E.  T.  BROCKWAY,  Ainsworth,  Washington  County.— Land- 
scape Gardening — Hedges,  Evergreens — Fine  Stock  Hogs 
and  Their  Management — Artichokes — Hay  Stacker,  -  430 

BENJAMIN  LEV  AN,  Guthrie  Center,  Guthrie  County.— Or- 
chards— Manures — Black  Walnut  and  Cottonwood  Fence 
— Small  Grain— Corn — Herefords — Raising  Calves — Hogs,  439 

A.  FAILER,  Kellogg,  Jasper  County.  —  Short-Horns  —  Breed 
Nothing  but  the  Best  Stock  —  Management  of  Hogs 

—  Breeding  —  Weaning  —  Pens  and  Feeding  Cribs  —  Arti- 
chokes,      -___.__       443 

W.  H.  PALMER,  Waterloo,  Black  Hawk  County.— Wheat- 
Oats — Clover — Corn — Cattle— Hogs — Sheep — Pasture  and 
Meadows — Manures — Fences — Hedges — Groves — Orchard 

—  Farm  Buildings — Hay  Stacker — Drainage,       -  -       449 

GEORGE  W.  SHAW,  Garden  Grove,  Decatur  County.— 
Fruit  Farm  That  has  Paid  Ten  Per  Cent.  Interest  on  the 
Investment — Planting  and  Pruning  Pear  Orchard — Cherries 
— Currants — Grapes,  -  -  -  464 

JAMES  D.  ADAMS,  Alta,  Buena  Vista  County— Fine  Stock 
County — Plenty  of  Range— Herd  Law— Oats,  Corn,  Wheat, 
Flax  and  Clover,  -  -  470 

SAMUEL    REED,  Algona,  Kossuth   County.— Corn— Farming 

Implements — Cattle — Hogs — Fruit,  -  -       475 

W.  H.  WIDNEY,  Clarinda,  Page  County. — Location— Descrip- 
tion— Horses — Cattle — Hogs — Plans — Hedges,  -  -  480 

W.  H.  FITCH,  Jackson,  Calhoun  County. — Description  of  Farm 

—  Stock  —  Cattle  —  Hogs,  -  -       484 

GEORGE  W.  BANISTER,  Cherokee,  Cherokee  County.  —  His- 
torical —  Descriptive  —  Improvements  —  Methods  —  Stock 

—  Grain,  ______       486 

J.  SIDDONS,  Troy,  Davis  County.  —  Profits  Largely  Derived 
From  Corn  —  Rotation  of  Crops  —  Grass,  Shade  and  Water 
Essential  to  Successful  Hog-Raising —  How  and  When  to 
to  Make  Hay  —  Management  and  Care  of  Sheep,  -  491 


xvi  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

SYLVESTER  SMITH,  Wayne,  Henry  County.  —  Rich  Soil  — 
Drainage  Absolutely  Necessary  —  Rotation  of  Crops  — 
Potatoes — Stock,  -  498 

H.  B.  COX,  Missouri  Valley,  Harrison  County.  —  Stock  Farm 
— Corn — Pasture — Feeding  and  Fattening  Cattle — Econ- 
omical Methods  of  Raising  Hogs — Plans  for  Handling  and 
Stacking  Hay,  -  -  -  501 

L.  W.  CLEMENTS,  Pleasant  Valley,  Scott  County. — Peaches 
Manner  of  Planting  —  Cultivation  —  Secret  of  Success — 
Onions — Best  Soil — Preparation  of  the  Ground — Culture — 
Profits,  -  511 

W.  I.  EMERSON,  Vega,  Jefferson  County.  — Drainage — Fertil- 
izers —  Rotation  of  Crops  —  Mixing  Seeds  —  Meadows — 
Shelter,  -  -  516 

F.  T.  PILKINGTON,  Elkport,  Clayton  County. — Rotation  of 
Crops  and  Thorough  Manuring  Produce  Good  Results— It 
Pays  to  Clean  Wheat,  -  519 

S.  A.  FRENCH,  Faulkner,  Franklin  County. — Management  of 
Hogs  —  Corn  Husks  Valuable  —  Artichokes — Self-Feeding 
and  Watering  Fixtures  for  Stock,  -  -  524 

W.  H.   COLBURN,    Waterloo,   Blackhawk    County.— Plan  of  a 

Hog  Barn,  at  Lester,  Blackhawk  County,  -       530 

JOHN  WINTER,  Westchester,  WashingtonCounty. — StoneQuarry 
— Osage — Stone  Barn — Maples  for  Wind- Breaks — Corn — 
Grass — Stock  and  Drainage,  -  -  -  531 


MINNESOTA. 

E.  T.  WAY,  Claremont,  Dodge  County.— The  Soil  Well  Adapted 
to  Mixed  Husbandry  —  Spring  Wheat  —  Fall  Plowing  a 
necessity  —  Stock — Pasture  and  Meadows  —  Clover,  -  534 

J.  OAKES,  Clearwater,    Wright  County.  —  Cheap   Stable   and 

Pig  Pen,  -  -  538 

J.  S.  HARRIS  &  SON,  La  Crescent,  Houston  County.  —  Fruit 
and  Vegetable  Farm — Commenced  with  Nothing  and  Poor 
Health — Now  the  Owner  of  a  Beautiful  Home  and  a  Com- 
petency, -  -  540 

T.  G.  BOLTON,  Plainview,  Wabasha  County— Good  Wheat 
Country  —  Methods  of  Raising  It  —  Stock  —  Sheep  Yard 
and  Hog  Pen,  -  -  549 


CONTENTS.  xvii 

PAGE. 

E.  N.  DARLING,  La  Verne,  Rock  County.  —  Discouragements 

—  Descriptive  —  Planting  and  Harvesting —  Hogs  —  Cattle 

—  Horses  —  Poultry  —  Fruit,      -  552 

D.  F.  AKIN,  Farmington,  Dakota  County. — Buildings — Stabling 
and  Feeding  Stock  —  Horses  —  Cattle  —  Sheep  —  Hogs  — 
Bees  —  Fruit  —  Implements  —  Grain  —  Climate,  -  557 

A.  B.  S WAINE,  Elysian,  Le  Sueur  County.  —  Corn  —  Oats  —  Su- 
gar-cane—  Cows  and  Calves  —  Hogs  —  Fruit  —  Profits  — 
Timber  Farming,  -  566 

J.  H.  CUNNINGHAM,  Hersey,  Noble  County—  Wind-break- 
Stock — Sheep — Grain — Soil — Planting — Buildings,  -  572 

G.  W.  BUFFUM,  Owatonna,  Steele  Counfy.-Da.iry  Farm  — 
Points  for  Good  Dairy  Cows — Yield  of  Milk — Feed — Pro- 
ceeds— Wheat — Fruit — Machinery — Barn,  -  576 

P.    L.    SHARE,   Rosemont,   Dakota    County.  —  Division   of    a 

Quarter  Section  —  Fallowing  and  Manuring,      -  -       582 

JAMES  T.  PRICE,  Eyota,  Olmstead  County.— Mixed  Husbandry 

— Buildings — Fruit — Artificial  Groves — Stock,    -  583 


NEBRASKA. 

CHARLES  H.  WALKER,  Bloomington,  Franklin  County  — 
Timber  Culture  Act — Its  Provisions — How  Carried  Out — 
Congress  Assists — Russian  Furnaces,  -  585 

ANDREW  SULZMAN,    Tecumseh,   Johnson  County.  — Cheap 

Out-Buildings — TimberCulture — Orchard — Corn  and  Stock  591 

WM.  STOLLEY,  Grand  Island,  Hall  County.— Forestry— Or- 
chard and  Vineyard — Stock — Hedges — Buildings,  -  603 

M.  B.  STONE,  Syracuse,  Otoe  County, — Corn — Grain — Herding 

— Cattle — Sheep — Fruit — Climate,  -  609 

DAVID    BROWN,    Everett,  Dodge   County.  — Mode   of  Corn 

Growing — Wheat — Potatoes — Hogs,  -       614 

N.  R.  PERSINGER,  Central  City,  Merrick  County.  —  Stock 
and  Fruit  Farm — Cattle — Buildings — Model  Racks — Feed- 
ing— Profits,  _-.___  618 

ROBERT  W.  FURNAS,  Brownsville,  Nemaha  County.  —  Fruit 
Farm  —  Old  and  New  —  Orchard  —  Plums  —  Pears  — 
Apricots  —  Grapes  —  Berries  —  Marketing,  -  -  622 


xviii  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

E.  S.  PHELPS,  Aurora,  Hamilton  County.  —  Stock  Farm  — 
Drainage  —  Fencing  —  Comfortable  House  —  Stock  Rais- 
ing —  Poultry  —  Wheat  on  New  Land  —  Prairie  Land 

—  Plenty  of  Water,  -       628 

S.  G.  SCHOONOVER,  Carleton,  Thayer  County.  —  Soil  of  the 
County  —  Building  Stone  —  Implements  Used  —  Wheat 
Raising  —  Fruits  —  Timber,  -  632 

W.  C.  SMITH,  Waco,  York  County.  —  Stock  —  Wheat  Raising 

—  Corn  —  Berkshires  and  Poland  China  —  Timber  Culture.  634 

CLAUDIUS  JONES,  Seward,  Seward  County.  —  Model  Barn,  636 

HIRAM  RICE,  Albion,  Boone  County.  —  Land  of  Promise — 
Timber — Wheat  Lands — Early  Plowing — Cuts  His  Grain 
Before  Quite  Ripe — Experience,  -  640 

GEORGE  A.  HOBSON,  Beaver  City,  Furnas  County. — Fertile 
Region — Limestone  Abundant — Cost  of  Crops — Methods 
of  Planting — Short-Horns — Hogs — Bees — Poultry,  -  645 


WISCONSIN. 

WILLIAM  ROHN,  Jackson,  Washington  County— Mixed  Hus- 
bandry—  Seventy  Acres  Unde^  Cultivation  —  Thorough 
Plowing — Rotation  of  Crops — Gross  Receipts,  -  -  650 

B.  S.  HOXIE,  Cooksville,  Rock  County. — Farm  Buildings,       -       654 

I.  N.  STONE,  Fort  Atkinson,  Jefferson  County. — Strawberry 
Culture — Transplanting  —  Cultivation  —  Gathering — Mar- 
keting, -  -  -  657 

I.  W.  WOOD,  Baraboo,  Sauk  County. — Clearing  a  Farm  in  the 

Woods,    ---  ___66i 

ELI  STILSON,  Oshkosh,  Winnebago  County.— Spring  Wheat- 
Drainage — Fertilizers — Short-Horns — Sheep,  -  666 

B.  B.  OLDS,   Clinton,  Rock  County.  —  How    to    Handle    and 

Where  to  Keep  Apples — Fruit  House,     -  -  -       671 

GEORGE    J.    KELLOGG,   Janesville,   Rock   County.  —  Fruit 

Growing  and  Fruit  Marketing,     -  -  677 

JAMES  W.  TRESTRAIL,  Seymour,  La  Fayette  County.  —  Hog- 
Pen  —  Sheep  Shed  —  Racks  —  Dairying,  -  -  684 


CONTENTS.  xix 

OH  IO. 

ULRIC    BLICKENSDERFER,  Ashtabula    County.  —  Energy  " 
in  Farm  Work — Skillfully  Directing  Hired  Help  —  System 
in  Management  —  Improving  Appearance  of  Farm,  Inex- 
pensively—  Clay  Soils  —  Foot  Rot  in  Sheep — Farm  Ac- 
counts,    -  -       687 

W.  G.  HUSCROFT,  Steubenville,  Jefferson  County. —  Methods 
— Clover — Feed  for  Milch  Cows — Farm  Receipts  and  Ex- 
penses, -  -  699 

B.  C.  STANLEY,  Damasconville,  Columbiana  County.  —  Fruit 
Growing — Two  Methods — Reasons  for  Failures — Birds  Our 
Best  Friends,  -  -  704 

HARVEY  ROBB,  Middle  field,  Geauga  County.  —  Soil  —  Cattle 

— Sheep — Horses — Hogs — Fruit — Fertilizers — Buildings,      7 10 

O.  WILCOX,    Hinckley   Medina    County.  —  Profit   in  a   Small 

Farm  —  Fruit — Onions — Stock  —  Sheep,  -       713 

N.  TALCOTT,  Jefferson,  Ashtabula  County.  —  Stock  —  Making 

Sugar  —  Buildings  —  Results,      -  -  -  717 

D.    W.    H.    HOWARD,     Waseon,   Fulton    County.  —  Profit  of 

Sheep — Under  Drainage,  -  -  -       722 

JAMES  McDOWELL,  Canton,  Stark  County. — Pasture — Rota- 
tion— Short-Horns — Sheep — Barn  and  Racks,  -  -  724 

A.  H.  WRENN,  Mount  Gilead,  Morrow  County.— Plan  for  a 
Hog  House — Hen  House  and  Barn — Results  of  Experi- 
ments— Sheep — Hogs,  -  -  -  -  727 

SOLOMON  J.  WOOLEY,  Billiard,  Franklin  County.— Til- 
ing— How  to  Make  Drains — Depth — Laterals — Velocity  of 
Water — Cost  of  Draining  per  Acre  —  Pastures — Cattle — 
Sheep — Hogs — Horses — Rotation  of  Crops — Manures.  732 

W.  C.  HAMPTON,  Mount  Victory,  Hardin  County. —Farm- 
er's Wood  Lot,  -  -  746 


CONTENTS. 


INDIANA. 

7AGB. 

HENRY  C.  MEREDITH,  Cambridge  City,    Wayne  County. — 

Sheep  Racks  and  Troughs,  -       749 

EDWARD  P.  WEYER,  Madison,  Jefferson  County. — Stock  and 

Bee  Farm — Short- Horns — Sheep  and  Hogs,  -       753 

I.  B.    SMITH.   Queensville,  Jennings   County. — Corn — Stock — 

Creameries — Fruit — Buildings,    -  -  -       761 

T.    KEENE,    Valparaiso,  Porter   County.  —  Sheep  —  Hogs  — 

Drainage,  -  -       765 

JOHN  WEIR,  Terre  Haute,  Vigo  County.— Rotation  of  Crops 

— Average  Yield  of  Fields,  -  767 

JOHN    MILLER,   Richland,    Greene    County.  —  Soil  —  Stock 

Feeding — Timothy  and  Oats — Corn  Crib  and  Barn,         -       772 

O.  DINWIDDIE,  Orchard  Grove,  Lake  County. — Sheep  Racks 

—Cheap  Hog  Pen— Open  Wells— Wind  Mill,      -  -       778 

PERCY  ROUSE,    Vevay,  Switzerland  County  —Sheep  Farm- 
Feeding  Racks —  Plan  of  Feeding— Bees,  -  -       781 


MISSOURI. 

W.  J.  BOOTH,  Ccntralia,  Boone  Cou-i'v.— Stock  Farm — Tenant 
System — Pastures  and  Meadow — Sheep — Hogs — Horses 
and  Mules — Water  Float,  -  -  -  785 


MICHIGAN. 

B.  F.  PARTRIDGE,  Bay  City,  Bay  County.— Buildings— Culti- 
vation— Barley — Oats— Potatoes — Fruit — Soil  and  Timber 
— Stock  —  Water,  -  -  -  -  -  795 


ILLINOIS. 


CHARLES    M.    CULBERTSON, 

NEWMAN,   DOUGLASS   COUNTY. 

A  Stock  Farm  —  Buildings  —  Fields  —  Hereford  Cattle  —  How 
and  When  to  Breed — Rearing  of  Calves  and  Bulls — Por- 
table Feed  Racks  for  Cattle. 

HEREFORD  PARK. 

My  farm  proper  consists  of  two  thousand  acres,  and  as 
shown  by  the  plat,  is  subdivided  into  seventeen  fields  of  eighty 
acres  each,  and  five  of  ten  to  forty  acres  each,  besides  several 
smaller  lots  for  feeding  purposes.  I  have  about  twenty  miles 
of  good  Osage  orange  fence,  nearly  all  of  which  will  turn  not 
only  cattle,  but  hogs.  I  have  a  natural  grove  of  thirty  acres 
on  one  of  my  fields,  also  fifteen  acres  of  black  walnut  trees 
that  I  planted  myself  in  1856X  They  have  now  attained  a 
growth  of  from  six  to  fifteen  inches  in  diameter,  and  some  of 
them  are  seventy-five  feet  high,  and  are  four  thousand  in  num- 
ber. This  whole  tract  is  in  pasture  or  meadow. 

BUILDINGS. 

I  have  a  horse  barn  forty  feet  square,  which  will  stable 
eighteen  horses ;  two  cattle  barns,  which  will  stall  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  head  of  cattle  ;  also  a  large  stable  for  five  bulls, 
all  of  which  are  kept  in  box  stalls  ;  a  building  twenty-four  by 
twenty-four  in  which  is  kept  the  machinery  for  grinding  and 
preparing  feed  ;  two  cattle  sheds  one  hundred  by  sixteen 
feet,  and  two  fifty  by  fourteen ;  one  pig-pen  ten  by  two 
two  hundred  feet  long  ;  two  tool  houses  ;  one  horse  shed.  All 

s 


6  DOUGLASS  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS 

these  buildings  are  shingled  and  painted.     The  duelling  house 
is  one  story,  eighteen  by  seventy-six. 

There  are  three  orchards  of  over  one  thousand  bearing 
trees,  twenty-one  wells  of  water,  curbed  in  good  shape,  one 
hundred  and  ten  gates  of  various  kinds,  and  eight  feed  lots. 

STOCK. 

I  have  sixty-nine  head  of  full-blood  Hereford  cattle,  two 
hundred  and  forty  head  of  half-blood  Hereford  cows,  bulls,  and 
calves,  and  about  two  hundred  head  6f  grade  Short-Horns, 
consisting  of  cows  and  heifers  ;  and  thirty  head  of  Essex  hogs. 

In  my  stock  are  five  very  fine  bulls,  three  of  which  I  keep 
for  my  own  use,  having  imported  them  in  the  Fall  of  1879.  One, 
Anxiety,  I  consider  an  exceptionally  fine  animal,  so  named 
from  the  fact  that  the  mother  was  lost  in  giving  it  birth.  The 
other  two  imported  animals  are  Sir  Garnet,  a  yearling,  out  of 
the  famous  cow  Spangle,  got  by  Tredegar  Second.  I  have 
also  nine  cows  imported,  which  are  also  highly  bred.  I  con- 
sider the  cross  of  Herefords  with  Short-Horn  grades  the  best 
for  meat  producing  qualities,  outside  of  full-bloods. 

I  first  raised  horses,  mules,  and  some  hogs,  with  but  mod- 
erate results.  I  next  went  into  breeding  Short-Horns,  but 
found  that  they  were  not  able  to  rough  it  satisfactorily.  I 
then  crossed  this  breed  with  the  Herefords,  and  secured  an  ani- 
mal that  I  am  satisfied  can  easily  live  upon  grass  and  at  the 
same  time  give  the  most  satisfactory  results.  This  cross,  as 
yearlings,  have  found  a  ready  sale,  by  the  car-load,  to  go  to  the 
plains. 

BREEDING. 

My  experience  in  breeding  is  that  the  animals  should 
couple  during  the  months  of  June,  July,  and  August,  thereby 
calving  in  the  following  March,  April,  and  May,  when  the 
mother  can  almost  immediately  go  on  grass,  giving  the  best 
flow  of  milk  ;  this  at  the  same  time  brings  the  calves  into  better 
condition  for  wintering.  Again,  the  calves,  weaning  soon 
enough,  get  a  chance  at  the  grass  before  going  into  Winter 
quarters.  I  feed  to  them,  in  troughs,  hay,  with  a  little  corn 


PLAN  OF  FARM  AND  BUILDINGS. 


•7 
40  Acres 

Plough  Land 


C-vunttj^Line  Jtoaii 


Eufherford  Field 

1-29  Acres 
Meadow 


Acres  Eieia 

129  Acres 
M'eadow 


Cyrus 'Field 

129  Acres 
Meadow 


Biggs'  Field 
129  Acres 
Meadow 


Charley's  Field 
129  Acres 

ileadow 


19 

o 

Heiidrickson  Field 

160  Acres 
Pasture  Land. 


Kmney  JioaS 


31 

Bulldozer.Field 

160  Acres 
JPloughXanl 


33 

Kenney  Island 

TloughXanS 


8  DOUGLASS  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

and  oats  in  cold  weather.  About  a  month  before  the  calves 
are  weaned,  I  have  a  pen  made  in  the  lot  where  the  cows  and 
calves  graze,  with  a  hole  in  the  fence  large  enough  for  the 
calves  to  go  through.  In  this  pen  I  put  troughs  with  corn 
and  oats.  The  young  calf,  by  this  means,  finds  its  way  into 
the  pen,  and  learns  to  eat  grain  before  weaning.  I  give  a  good, 
fresh  pasture  to  the  calves  during  their  weaning,  after  which 
they  are  fed  from  a  pint  to  a  quart  of  shelled  corn.  My 
practice  has  been  to  put  on  the  calf  all  the  fat  I  could  with 
the  aid  of  the  milk  from  the  cow.  The  calves  stay  on  the 
grass  with  their  shelled  corn  and  oats  until  about  the  first  of 
November.  Then  they  are  moved  into  Winter  quarters,  that 
is,  a  yard  with  open  sheds,  having  racks  to  which  they  can 
have  free  access,  and  get  a  full  supply  of  timothy  hay,  with 
some  corn  and  oats. 

At  weaning  I  separate  my  calves,  the  bulls  from  the 
heifers.  Those  that  are  castrated  are  cut  when  three  weeks 
old,  and  I  always  spay  my  inferior  heifers.  I  generally  turn 
out  to  grass  from  the  first  to  the  tenth  of  May,  preferring  that 
the  grass  have  a  good  start  first.  The  breeding  cows  are  dried 
off  while  the  calves  are  sucking.  I  turn  off  such  cows  as 
bring  poor  calves,  putting  them  in  a  lot  by  themselves  for  feed- 
ing, and  feed  them  ear  corn.  By  this  plan  I  try  to  have 
them  fit  for  the  butcher  when  the  calves  are  weaned.  I  win- 
ter my  breeding  cows  in  open  fields,  feeding  hay  alone  on  the 
ground,  selecting  the  dryest  and  highest  places.  When  the 
cows  begin  to  show  signs  of  calving,  which  is  readily  discerned 
by  the  enlargement  of  the  udder,  I  place  them  in  breeding 
yards  with  open  sheds,  and  a  calving  house  fifty  by  fifteen. 
The  calves  remain  here  until  they  are  three  or  four  days  old. 
In  bad  weather  I  put  them  in  a  five-acre  field,  which  adjoins 
the  stock  yard.  There  are  holes  made  through  the  fence,  as 
described,  so  that  the  calves  can  get  around  the  stacks.  Such 
cows  are  fed  hay  and  corn-stalks,  with  a  small  allowance  of 
corn,  say  from  three  to  five  ears  each.  In  this  way  the  cows 
and  calves  both  thrive  well. 

I  always  keep  plenty  of  salt  in  the  field  for  cattle.     For 


BREEDING   HEIFERS  —  BULLS.  9 

keeping  my  stock  healthy,  I  use  the  following :  One-quarter  of 
a  pound  of  sulphur  and  quarter  of  a  pound  of  saltpeter,  to  a 
peck  of  salt.  I  have  used  this  mixture  with  great  success.  If  I 
have  a  case  of  abortion  in  my  herd,  I  take  the  cow  out  at  once, 
and  if  not  a  very  valuable  cow,  put  her  to  feed  for  the  butcher. 
If  I  save  her  to  breed  again,  I  keep  her  from  the  rest  of  the 
herd  for  fully  three  months,  for  obvious  reasons. 

BREEDING    HEIFERS. 

I  breed  my  young  heifers  at  from  the  age  of  fifteen  to 
twenty  months,  and  generally  in  July  and  August,  if  I  can. 
My  cattle  are  kept  on  the  same  fields  they  winter  upon,  until 
the  middle  of  June,  at  which  time  they  are  put  upon  their 
Summer  pasturage.  No  more  cattle  are  put  upon  the  old  pas- 
ture until  the  following  November.  By  this  rest  of  the 
pasture,  the  fields  recuperate  and  have  again  a  good  supply  of 
grass  for  the  stock  to  winter  upon. 

My  mode  of  watering  is  to  dip  the  water  into  troughs, 
which  consumes  the  time  of  one  man.  The  water  stands  in 
the  well  from  four  to  eight  feet  from  the  surface,  and  there  is 
no  difficulty  in  obtaining  a  bountiful  supply. 

BULLS. 

I  feed  my  stock  bulls  from  two  to  four  quarts  of  oats  and 
corn  per  day,  with  plenty  of  timothy  hay,  also  about  eight 
pounds  of  sliced  beets  each  in  the  Spring  of  the  year,  increas- 
ing the  oats  and  decreasing  the  corn  in  breeding  season.  The 
cows  are  kept  in  a  herd  together,  with  a  herdsman  to  watch 
them  when  they  come  in  season.  When  this  is  observed,  they 
are  driven  to  a  breeding-yard,  and  bred  as  desired. 

If  the  day  is  warm,  the  cow  is  allowed  to  cool  for  one  hour 
before  the  bull  is  allowed  to  go  to  her,  the  cows  then  being 
placed  in  the  yards  alone  until  quieted.  This  is  followed  up 
until  the  whole  herd  is  served,  after  which  a  bull  is  turned  out 
with  the  herd  to  make  sure  that  all  the  cows  are  with  calf.  I 
consider  one  good  service  all  that  is  necessary.  I  am  of  the 
opinion  that  a  yearling  bull  is  better  for  heifers  under  two 
years,  as  they  are  not  so  apt  to  strain  the  heifers  by  heavy 


10 


DOUGLASS  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 


weights,  and  lacerate  the  womb  by  hard  service,  which  is  often 
the  case  when  older  bulls  are  used.  This  I  believe  produces 
barrenness  in  many  cattle.  The  quieter  and  more  carefully  a 
herd  is  handled  the  better  success  I  have  with  it. 


PORTABLE  FEED   RACKS. 


I  have  an  invention  of  my  own  like  the  plan  below.  It  is 
all  made  of  oak,  except  feed  box ;  no  nails  in  the  frame,  all 
bolted  together : 


No.  1,  oak  posts,  four  by  four,  seven  feet  long. 
No.  2,  cap,  two  by  five  oak,  sixteen  feet  long.    No. 

3,  rack  rounds,  two  by  two  oak,  four  feet  long.    No. 

4,  cross  piece,  four  by  four  oak,  on  which  the  base 
of  rack  rests,  bolted  to  up-right  posts  with  one-half 
inch  bolt.    No.  5,  two  and  one-half  by  ten,  sixteen 
feet  long  bed,  which  receives  the  rounds.    No.  6  is 
a  trough  running  lengthwise  under  the  eaves  of  the 
rack,  eighteen  inches  wide  and  one  foot  deep,  and  is 
spiked  to  rack  sill,  No.  5,  as  marked  on  the  plan. 
The  troughs  catch  all  the  litter  and  seed,  and  also 
answer  the  purpose  for  feeding  grain. 


In  case  I  wish  to  move  these  racks,  I  bore  a  hole  about  eight 
inches  from  the  end  in  each  of  the  upright  posts,  and  bolt  on 
a  pair  of  runners,  hitch  a  team,  and  haul  them  wherever  I 
wish.  These  racks,  as  they  now  stand,  are  used  for  feeding 
large  cattle.  In  case  I  wish  to  feed  calves,  I  dig  a  post  hole 
eighteen  inches  deep,  and  into  the  holes  sink  the  posts.  In  the 
Summer  I  take  the  racks  out  of  the  holes,  and  stand  them  upon 
boards  to  prevent  rotting. 


SUGAR  GROVE  FARM.  11 

HENRY  CHAPMAN, 

SUGAR  GEOVE,  KANE   COUNTY. 

Land  Needs  Rest  —  Clover  Head  and  Shoulders  Above  All 
Other  Fertilizers  —  Never  Cut  It  Twice  in  the  Same  Year  — 
Hogs,  their  Feed  and  Management  —  Short  Horns,  Devons, 
Herefords  —  Sheep  —  The  Dairy. 

SUGAR    GROVE    FARM 

contains  261  acres  of  land,  21  acres  being  timber,  the  remain- 
der prairie.  My  farm  is  moderately  rolling  prairie,  and  for  the 
most  part  dry  land,  suitable  for  cultivation  in  all  seasons.  The 
soil  is  a  dark  loam,  with  black  sand  enough  to  produce  an  early 
growth  of  vegetation  in  the  Spring. 

The  sub-soil,  commencing  at  a  depth  of  from  one  to  three 
feet,  is  yellow  earth,  with  a  mixture  of  sand  and  gravel  suffi- 
cient to  prevent  standing  water,  yet  not  enough  to  leach  away 
the  fertilizings.  I  have  a  few  acres  with  a  surface  soil  rich  in 
vegetable  mold,  but  a  clay  sub-soil  that  holds  the  water,  and 
it  is  commonly  called  a  slough. 

I  have  not  tiled  or  plowed  this  wet  land,  as  it  produces 
bountifully ;  and  in  a  very  dry  season,  when  other  pasture  lands 
fail,  it  affords  plenty  of  feed  for  my  stock. 

I  am  following  a  mixed  husbandry. 

CORN  IS   MY  FORTE, 

but  I  raise  oats  and  occasionally  wheat,  rye  and  barley,  the 
latter  more  to  help  me  to  secure  a  good  clover  seeding,  than 
for  any  other  purpose.  My  rule  is  to  plow  only  three  years 
without  seeding  with  clover.  After  breaking  a  piece  of  sod, 
I  raise  two  crops  of  corn  and  one  of  small  grain,  seeding  the 
latter  with  clover.  Then  three  crops  of  clover,  and  plow  up 
again  for  corn,  thus  alternating  every  three  years.  Land  needs 


12  KANE  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

rest  from  the  plow  at  least  one-half  of  the  time,  in  order  to 
preserve  its  vitality,  and 

CLOVER  IS  THE  BEST  FERTILIZING  RENOVATOR 

that  it  can  have  during  that  time ;  it  is  head  and  shoulders 
above  -any  thing  else.  Clover  gives  the  soil  additional  life 
and  vigor,  preparing  it  to  put  forth  all  its  strength  in  the 
production  of  corn,  or  any  other  grain.  When  clover  is 
intended  for  hay  it  should  be  cut  early  in  the  season.  The  after 
crop  should  never  be  taken  from  the  land,  but  when  the  seed 
is  matured  it  may  be  used  for  grazing  purposes,  keeping  the 
stock  continually  on  the  ground.  This  will  re-seed  the  land, 
which  is  necessary  every  three  years  if  it  be  a  biennial  plant. 

CLOVER  SHOULD  NOT  BE  GRAZED  TOO  CLOSELY  IN  THE   FALL, 

as  it  is  tender,  and  needs  protection  against  excessive  frost.  I 
have  derived  great  benefit  and  even  saved  the  life  of  my 
young  clover,  by  giving  it  a  top  dressing  of  straw,  or  barnyard 
manure,  or  compost  in  the  Fall,  or  any  time  before  the  ground 
freezes.  With  such  treatment  the  following  year's  crop  has 
doubly  paid  the  cost. 

In  localities  where  the  land  is  well  covered  with  snow 
during  the  Winter  and  early  Spring,  such  a  course  is  not  abso- 
lutely necessary,  but  always  advisable. 

THE  GREAT  VALUE  OF  CLOVER 

is  not  more  than  half  realized  in  the  crop  itself,  but  it  enriches 
and  invigorates  the  soil,  securing  the  production  of  excellent 
crops  of  corn  or  other  cereals  after  it. 

The  roots  are  large,  permeating  the  soil  frequently  to  the 
depth  of  eighteen  inches,  holding  it  in  a  loose,  arable,  and 
proper  condition  to  respond  most  generously  to  the  intelligent 
and  energetic  treatment  of  the  husbandman.  Of  the  different 
kinds  of  clover  in  use,  I  find  the  largest  is  the  best  fertilizer, 
while  the  smaller  or  medium  grades  are  perhaps  better  for  hay. 

ENEMIES. 
Clover  has  many  enemies  to  contend  with.      Excessive 


PROCURING  GOOD  SEED.  13 

drought  and  freezing  are  injurious,  and  often  fatal  to  the  young, 
and  even  the  matured  plant. 

CLOVER   SEED. 

One  of  the  greatest  difficulties  in  securing  a  good  seeding 
of  clover  is  that  large  amounts  of  poor  seed  have  been  thrown 
upon  the  market.  A  seed  has  which  been  injured  by  dampness 
in  the  stack  before  threshing,  causing  it  to  sprout,  and  often 
to  ferment ;  such  seed,  when  sold  to  farmers,  must,  of  course, 
result  in  a  failure. 

Every  farmer  should  know  that  his  seed  is  good,  and  the 
surest  way  of  knowing  is  to  secure  it  himself  from  his  second 
crop,  in  proper  time,  and  with  great  care ;  and  he  should  see 
that  it  is  properly  cured  and  kept  dry  until  threshed  and  used. 
Glover  seed  kept  through  the  Summer  in  bulk,  even  in  mode- 
rate quantities,  unless  it  be  very  dry,  is  liable  to  heat,  which 
will  destroy  its  germinating  power. 

SOWING   CLOVER    SEED. 

I  usually  sow  it  with  timothy  seed,  —  about  four  quarts 
of  the  former,  and  six  of  the  latter,  to  an  acre. 

If  the  clover  takes  well,  it  will  crowd  out  most  of  the 
timothy  ;  if  the  clover  fails  I  have  thus  a  chance  for  a  crop  of 
timothy. 

FERTILIZERS. 

Farmers  have  so  many  different  departments  and  interests 
to  look  after,  that  many  are  very  liable  to  neglect  the  renova- 
tion of  their  soil,  a  neglect  that  is  fatal  to  ultimate  success. 
As  vegetation  in  its  many  forms,  aod  in  decomposition,  is  about 
the  only  available  fertilizer  in  this  country,  it  is  of  the  utmost 
importance,  that  every  thing  of  the  kind  be  utilized  to  the 
very  best  advantage. 

TOP  DRESSING. 

Top  dressing  with  barn  yard  manure  and  all  other  forms  of 
vegetable  matter,  where  meadow  and  pasture  lands  are  designed 
ultimately  for  cereal  products,  is  the  best  disposition  that  can 
,be  made  of  them  ;  and  the  more  decomposition  that  goes  on 


14  KANE   COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

after  the  fertilizer  is  spread  upon  the  ground,  the  greater  is 
the  benefit ;  hence,  I  clean  out  my  yards  early  in  Spring  and 
Fall. 

Earth,  air,  and  water  contain,  in  great  abundance,  all  the 
ingredients  necessary  for  all  kinds  of  vegetable  production,  and 
the  greatest  work  of  the  scientist  and  the  practitioner  is  to  aid 
the  operation  of  nature  in  placing  those  elements  in  proper 
proportion  and  condition,  for  plant  appropriation.  So,  what- 
ever ingredient  is  extracted  from  the  soil  by  cropping,  must 
be  restored  in  some  way,  or,  ultimately,  total  depletion  will 
ensue. 

ADAPTATION. 

Every  farmer  should  study  the  quality,  capacity,  and 
adaptability  of  his  soil,  by  analysis  or  experiment,  and  then 
pursue  that  branch  of  husbandry,  as  nearly  as  practicable,  for 
which  nature  has  fitted  his  land.  Every  good  crop  enriches 
the  farmer,  while  every  poor  one  impoverishes  him.  Hence, 
one  good  crop  is  worth  more  than  a  thousand  poor  ones.  It  is 
well  to  allow  land  to  lie  in  clover  three  years  out  of  every 
four,  if  that  is  necessary  to  secure  a  good  crop  of  grain  the 
fourth  year.  With  proper  care  and  culture,  on  lands  properly 
adapted,  and  in  ordinarily  favorable  seasons,  we  might  as  well 
average  seventy-five  bushels  of  corn  or  of  oats,  thirty  of  wheat, 
fifty  of  barley,  etc.,  which  are  not  extravagant  estimates,  as  to 
get  less  than  half  those  amounts,  as  do  many  of  our  farmers. 

HIGHEST   AIM   UPON   THE    FARM. 

The  products  of  the  farm,  as  a  rule,  should  always  be 
used  at  home.  Every  bushel  of  grain,  ton  of  hay,  or  straw, 
sold  from  the  farm,  fails  to  pay  its  indebtedness  to  the  soil 
which  produced  it,  and  in  a  few  years,  without  other  sources 
of  supply,  that  soil  will  not  respond  to  the  labors  of  the 
farmer. 

I  very  seldom  dispose  of  my  grain  or  hay,  but  my  annual 
sales  are  all  in  the  shape  of  pork,  beef,  mutton,  wool,  and  dairy 
products.  Usually  I  produce  from  twenty  to  thirty  thousand 


HOGS  AND  THEIR  FEED.  15 

pounds  of  pork,  from  ten  to  twenty  thousand  pounds  of  beef, 
both  live  weight,  the  products  of  an  average  flock  of  two  hun- 
dred sheep,  and  a  dairy  of  about  sixteen  cows. 

HOGS. 

The  best  grade  of  hogs  I  ever  raised,  is  a  cross  of  the 
Poland  China  and  the  Berkshire.  I  regard  them  as  the  best 
feeders  and  shippers,  and  the  best  in  the  market.  With  my 
herd  of  sows,  I  use  the  .full  blood  Poland  and  Berkshire  sires, 
selected  alternately  with  much  care  from  remote  herds  and 
showing  indications  of  perfect  health. 

The  Berkshire  is  noted  for  its  muscle,  endurance,  com- 
pactness, and  strength,  while  the  Polands  give  the  size,  the 
fat,  and  the  quiet  habits,  with  very  uniform  results. 

For  the  last  twelve  years,  I  have  pursued  this  system 
invariably,  and  while  the  cholera  has  raged  fearfully  all  around 
me,  decimating,  and  even  destroying  many  herds, —  one  of 
which  was  my  nearest  neighbor's,  and  within  forty  rods  of  my 
own  hog  barn, —  I  have  not  lost  a  hog  nor  pig  with  any  disease, 
nor  has  disease  appeared  upon  my  farm  in  any  shape. 

The  hog  house  is  so  arranged  that  I  give  each  brood  sow 
a  separate  stall  at  least  a  week  before  her  time,  and  at  the  age 
of  three  or  four  weeks  her  family  is  turned  into  a  clover  field 
with  ample  shelter  to  protect  it  from  storms  or  cold.  My 
hog  house  is  large  enough  to  accommodate  the  feeding  of 
seventy-five  full  grown  hogs,  with  warm,  dry  quarters  for 
sleeping,  and  pure  fresh  water,  accessible  at  all  times. 

THE    FEED. 

The  offal  from  the  dairy  and  kitchen,  with  corn  and  oat- 
meal, are  my  principal  feed  for  growing  the  pig.  A  good 
clover  pasture  I  regard  as  indispensable  for  shoats  and  older 
hogs  during  that  period  of  their  lives  when  bone  and  muscle 
are  required.  Oats,  and  perhaps  some  corn  or  other  grain,  are 
also  necessary  for  this  purpose.  But  for  fattening  and  prepar- 
ing the  animal  for  market,  I  believe  that  corn  has  no  equal. 
I  have  secured  the  best  results  by  feeding  it  in  the  meal  well 


16  KANE   COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

cooked.  During  the  early  and  middle  stages  of  a  hog's  life,  I 
think  corn  alone  is  too  strong  and  heating  for  his  growth  or 
health. 

CLEANLINESS. 

I  attribute  much  of  the  hog  disease  to  the  general  prac- 
tice of  feeding  nothing  but  corn,  and  much  more  to  the  lack 
of  attention  to  the  shelter  and  comfort  of  the  animal.  The 
hog  is  a  filthy  animal  if  you  force  him  to  be  such.  He  is  also 
clean  if  you  make  him  so.  Good  food,  clean,  warm  quarters, 
and  pure  water  for  drink,  are  essential  to  his  health,  growth 
and  early  maturity. 

SHEEP. 

My  present  flock  consists  of  the  fine  wools  well  graded 
up  with  Leicester  blood,  giving  me  the  best  grade  of  wool  and 
mutton  for  market.  In  the  Fall  I  select  all  the  wethers  above 
three,  and  all  the  ewes  above  four  years  old,  for  feeding.  I 
feed  them  oats  for  about  three  months,  then  corn,  until  the 
middle  of  May,  or  perhaps  later.  I  then  take  off  the  fleece 
and  sell  the  sheep  for  mutton.  This  keeps  my  flock  young, 
vigorous,  and  in  the  best  wool  producing  time  of  life,  as  the 
quality  and  quantity  of  wool  begin  to  deteriorate  after  about 
the  fourth  year  of  a  sheep's  age.  Sheep  require  dry  land, 
warm  and  dry  quarters,  and  good  protection  from  the  storms 
at  all  seasons  of  the  year.  Clover  hay  with  a  little  grain,  or 
oat  straw,  cut  early,  well  cured  and  not  threshed,  makes  excel- 
lent Winter  feed  for  them.  My  sheep  fold  is  the  stone  base- 
ment of  my  barn. 

STOCK. 

In  regard  to  stock,  there  are  as  many  different  opinions  as 
to  qualities,  as  there  are  different  breeds  of  cattle.  Were 
I  selecting  for  butter  alone,  I  would  prefer  the  Jerseys ;  for 
beef,  the  Durhams;  while  I  regard  with  much  favor  the 
Devons,  the  Holsteins,  and  the  Herefords.  My  present  herd 
of  cattle  is  common  stock  well  graded  up  with  the  Short-Horns. 
They  make  fair  milkers  and  very  good  feeders,  perhaps  not  the 


FEEDING  STABLE  — DAIRY  17 

very  best  of  either,  but,  as  it  is  impossible  to  combine  the  two 
extremes  in  any  one  breed,  and  as  I  am  doing  about  equal 
amounts  of  business  in  butter  and  beef,  I  am  inclined  to  think 
that  it  would  hardly  pay  me  to  change,  except  perhaps  to 
increase  the  Short-Horn  blood. 

FEEDING    STABLE. 

I  have  a  stone  basement  stable  for  my  cows,  that  never 
freezes  except  in  extreme  cold  weather.  It  is  well  ventilated 
and  dry.  My  feeding  cattle  are  kept  in  a  yard,  with  dry, 
warm  sheds,  open  to  the  south,  in  which  the  hay  is1  fed.  I 
feed  the  corn  in  boxes  outside,  which  are  continually  accessible, 
and  they  have  also  plenty  of  pure  water. 

DAIRY. 

For  butter  making,  I  have  the  modern  improvements  of  a 
creamery  attached  to  the  north. end  of  my  dwelling  house, 
with  a  water  tank  twenty  inches  deep  for  setting  milk,  through 
which  I  can  pass  a  continuous  current  of  cold  water  for  deep 
setting  in  cans.  Not  having  any  living  water  on  my  farm,  I 
was  obliged  to  procure  it  by  artificial  means.  I  succeeded  in 
getting  an  abundance  of  water,  at  a  depth  of  ninety  feet,  on 
an  elevation  of  ground  near  my  buildings. 

WATEK. 

I  raise  the  water  by  wind  power,  into  a  reservoir,  built  of 
stone,  and  covered  with  earth,  below  the  reach  of  frost,  with 
a  capacity  of  six  hundred  barrels.  From  this,  by  means  of 
pipes,  the  water  is  conducted  into  my  house,  creamery,  barn, 
hog-house,  yard,  and  two  pasture  fields,  all  of  which,  except 
the  two  pasture  fields,  are  secured  from  frost.  The  troughs  in 
the  barn  and  yard  are  also  built  of  stone,  impervious  to  frost, 
and  self-regulating,  by  means  of  a  float  valve.  This  arrange- 
ment is  ample  to  supply  all  the  water  needed  on  the  farm,  and 
my  fences  are  so  arranged  that  the  stock  from  every  field  can 
have  easy  access  to  it.  This  water  arrangement  cost  nj$ 
between  ten  and  twelve  hundred  dollars. 


18  KANE  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

BUILDINGS. 

My  carriage  and  scale  house,  granary,  and  hog  house,  are 
all  in  the  same  building.  The  main  building  is  thirty-two  by 
eighty-eight  feet,  with  fourteen  feet  posts,  and  appropriated  as 
follows :  Twenty  feet  of  its  length,  on  the  east  end,  contains 
my  scales,  for  all  purposes  of  weighing,  and  my  carriages.  The 
scaffolding  or  second  floor  of  this  department  is  finished  off 
into  a  wool  room  eight  by  twenty  feet,  on  one  side  of  the  drive- 
way, and  a  storage  room  twelve  by  twenty  feet,  for  seeds  and 
finer  articles,  on  the  other  side.  The  next  thirty-two  feet  of 
the  length  of  said  building  is  devoted  exclusively  to  storing 
the  different  kinds  of  grain,  while  the  remaining  thirty-six  feet, 
with  arrangements  attached  for  sleeping  purposes,  constitute 
my  hog-house.  The  scaffold,  or  second  floor  in  the  hog-house 
is  used  for  storing  corn  for  feeding  purposes.  A  driveway 
runs  through  the  center  of  the  entire  building.  My  feeding 
floor,  thirty-two  by  thirty-six  feet,  can  be  all  used  for  this  pur- 
pose, or  by  means  of  movable  partitions,  I  can  form  a  drive- 
way, eight  feet  wide,  through  the  center,  and  any  number  of 
small  pens,  for  single  hogs,  that  may  be  desired,  on  either  side. 
My  wind  power  will  carry  the  water  into  any  part  of  this 
building  where  I  may  desire  it. 


IMPROVEMENT  OF  STOCK.  19 

?  . 
E.  J.  JEFFRESS, 

MARINE,    MADISON    COUNTY. 

Breed  Nothing  but  the  Very  Best  Stock  Horses  and  Sheep  — 
Pastures  and  Hay  —  Poultry  —  Self  Feed  Rack — Hay 
Shed  —  Hennery. 

STOCK. 

The  subject  of  improvement  in  stock  with  very  many 
farmers,  if  we  may  judge  by  their  actions,  is  a  matter  entirely 
unworthy  their  thought.  They  patronize  a  cheap  horse, 
simply  because  the  terms  of  service  are  cheap ;  get  a  cheap 
colt,  which  grows  up  into  a  cheap  horse,  and,  except  his  keep- 
ing, always  remains  cheap.  Things  of  small  cost,  usually, 
prove  to  be  of  small  value.  There  is  such  a  diversity  of  opin- 
ion relative  to  the  most  valuable  stock  of  horses,  that  I  hesitate 
somewhat  in  expressing  myself,  lest  I  oppose  the  views  of 
some  who  are  considered  standard  authority.  For  general 
farm  purposes,  I  would  not  select  the  Norman,  nor  the  fine- 
boned  racer  as  the  coming  horse,  but  a  clean-limbed,  well- 
formed  animal  of  about  one  thousand  or  one  thousand  two  hun- 
dred pounds,  that  can  take  a  buggy,  without  injury  to  himself, 
twelve  miles  per  hour.  The  St.  Lawrence,  Addison,  and  Hum- 
bletonian,  are  horses  of  this  type.  What  I  have  said  in  rela- 
tion to  the  raising  of  horses,  applies  with  the  same  force  to  the 
raising  of  cattle,  sheep,  and  hogs.  The  cow  that  will  give  two 
gallons  of  milk  per  day,  bring  a  calf  worth  five  dollars, 
and  at  last  surrender  up  a  carcass  of  nine  hundred  pounds, 
gross  weight,  is  to  some  entirely  satisfactory,  though  a  very 
expensive  animal.  The  farmer  may  say,  "  I  am  unable  to  pur- 
chase the  best  class  of  stock,  but  must  content  myself  with 
such  as  I  can  get."  To  a  certain  extent  this  may  be  true,  but 
as  his  highest  interest  demands  the  procurement  of  blooded 
animals,  he  should  never  allow  his  ambition  to  slacken  until 


20 


MADISON   COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 


. 

he  has  attained  this  end.-  In  selling,  let  the",  inferior  go,  not 
the  best.  In  breeding, 'if  .necessary,. go  several  mile's  to  obtain 
the  services  of  a  valuable  male.  Pursue  this  course  for  a  few 
years,  and  the  change  will  be  a  matter  of  astonishment; 

SHEEP. 

With  sheep,  the. most  marked  and  satisfactory  results  can 
be  obtained  by  pursuing  the  course  that  I  have  very  briefly 
indicated.  Purchase  or  hire  a  thorough-bred  buck, — I  would 
advise  Cotswold, —  and  with  him  turn  your  best  ewes.  From 
the  issue  keep  the  best  lambs,  and,  when  they  are  one  year  old 
past,  breed  them  to  a  different  buck  of  the  same  stock.  Follow 
this  system  a  few  years,  and  you  will  have  a  flock  of  sheep  of 


FIGURE   NO.    1. — "SELF   FEEDER. 


which  you  may  feel  proud  anywhere.  Sheep  properly  treated, 
are  provided  with  good  shelter,  partitioned  so  that  ewes  with 
young  lambs  may  be  put  by  themselves.  After  remaining  shut 
up  a  few  hours,  the  lambs  having  sucked,  they  may  be  removed, 
with  the  ewe,  giving  place  for  others.  Lambs  will  eat  bran 
and  ground  feed  when  only  a  few  weeks  old,  and  should  have 
access  to  food,  that  they  may  get  it  when  prompted  by  their 


PASTURE  £EED  —  HAY.  21 

appetites/  For  "this  purpose  I'lhio'w  of  no  structure  better 
adapted  to.  both  old'  sheep  and  lambs,  than  an  arrangement 
I  am  using,  called  the  "  Self  Feeder,"  and  represented  by 
figure  1,  The  ground  feed  is  put'  into  the  box,  which  is 
covered  securely,'  and  is  Divided  Into  .either  trough  by  two 
boards  nailed  together  thus  A-  The  feed  runs  down  gradually 
into  the  troughs,  never  filling  them',  hut  always  enough.  The 
feeder  I  am  using  is  not  so  expensive  as  the  one  shown  in  the 
diagram.  Mine  is  simply  the  bran  box  covered,  without  the 
shed,  and  is  about  sixteen  feet  in  length.  Any  one  at  all 
acquainted  with  the  use  of  tools,  can  make  one  in  a  few 
hours. 

SEEDS  FOR   A  PASTURE. 

Three  years  ago  I  made  a  new  pasture,  and  selected  the 
following  variety  of  seeds :  Blue  grass,  red  top,  red  clover, 
timothy,  and  orchard  grass,  sown  in  about  equal  quantities. 
The  orchard  grass  starts  very  early,  and  grows  more  rapidly 
than  other  grasses,  which  for  early  grazing  makes  it  valuable. 
For  drouth,  the  red  top  has  no  equal.  The  other  varieties  are 
too  well  known  to  require  a  word  of  comment.  And  with 
reference  to  the  combination,  I  would  say  try  it  and  you  will 
be  pleased. 

HAY. 

There  is  at  the  present  time  a  mania  among  farmers  for 
wheat  raising.  They  have  sown  again  all  their  stubble  land  of 
the  previous  year.  More  wheat  has  been  sown  upon  corn  land 
than  ever  was  known  before,  and  meadows  have  been  broken 
up  until  there  is  not  hay  enough  in  the  country  to  supply  the 
home  demand.  Hay  in  the  small  adjacent  towns  has  been  sell- 
ing for  twenty  dollars  per  ton.  This  is  much  better  than 
wheat.  I  have  broken  up  no  meadow,  but  will  give  it  greater 
care.  I  will,  in  the  early  Spring,  give  it  a  thorough  harrow- 
ing, which  improves  a  closely  sodded  meadow  wonderfully.  I 
do  not  stack  out  of  doors,  believing  the  waste  by  so  doing 
will  pay  for  a  suitable  building,  in  which  hay  will  be  secure,  in 
two  or  three  years.  Figure  2  represents  my  hay  shed.  There 


22  MADISON   COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

is  a  passage  wide  and  high  enough  between  the  posts  for  a  load 
of  hay,  which  is  taken  from  the  wagon  by  horse  power.  This 
shed  cost  about  one  hundred  dollars,  and  I  would  not  be  with- 
out it  for  twice  the  amount.  In  the  first  division  ot  the  build- 
ing, at  the  east  end,  I  have  my  scales,  upon  which  all  produce 
is  weighed  before  sent  to  market. 

POULTRY. 

I  have  the  light  Brahmas  and  buff  Cochins.  There  may 
be  better  fowls,  but  these  are  good  layers,  having  large  bodies. 
I  have  a  plan  of  a  hen  house,  which  I  claim  as  original,  and 
take  pleasure  in  giving  a  drawing  of  the  same  for  the  readers 
of  THE  MODEL  FARMS.  Figure  3  represents  the  building. 

Nest  pockets  are  attached  upon  the  outside,  under  tight- 
fitting  weather  strips,  by  hooks  to  the  wall.  These  pockets 
can  be  easily  removed  and  cleaned.  One  hen  can  not  interfere 
with  another,  either  in  laying  or  incubating. 


HAY  SHED  — HEN  HOUSE. 


23 


FIGUBE  2. — A  CHEAP  HAY  SHED. 


FIGURE   3. —  HEN   HOUSE. 


24  UNION  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 


ELI  EDDEMAN, 

DONGOLA,  UNION   COUNTY. 

Successful    Winter    Wheat   Farming   in    "Egypt" — A   Country 
Well  Adapted  for  Horticulture. 

I  sow  about  seventy-five  acres  of  wheat  every  year,  and 
I  usually  thresh  out  1,500  bushels  of  No.  1  wheat.  I  put 
the  wheat  in  with  a  Superior  drill,  and  cut  it  with  a  Champion 
reaper.  As  soon  as  the  wheat  is  dry  enough,  I  thresh  it  and 
put  it  on  the  first  market.  I  plant  thirty  acres  in  corn  every 
year,  and  the  yield  is  nearly  forty-five  bushels  to  the  acre. 
This  is  mostly  fed  to  hogs  and  other  stock.  The  hogs,  after 
being  well  fattened,  are  generally  sold  to  packers  and  a  hand- 
some profit  realized  on  the  corn. 

My  selection  of  wheat  land  is  always  from  my  clover  and 
stubble  fields,  which  land  I  break  in  July  and  August,  and 
again  re-break  in  September;  then  thoroughly  harrow  the 
ground  before  putting  the  seed  in. 

HOGS. 

I  raised  for  a  long  time  the  Poland  China  hogs,  but  for  the 
last  few  years  I  am  breeding  the  Berkshires,  and  they  pay  me 
better  than  the  Poland  Chinas. 

SHOET  HORN    CATTLE. 

My  stock  of  cattle  are  the  Short  Horns,  and  my  experience 
in  milch  kine  and  beef  cattle  gives  the  Short  Horn  the  prefer- 
ence. For  storage  for  hay,  grain,  and  the  shelter  and  protec- 
tion of  stock,  I  have  a  two-story  barn,  44x36  feet,  well  shedded 
on  all  sides,  so  that  none  of  the  stock  need  be  exposed  to  the 
weather.  Twelve  acres  are  usually  sown  in  oats  and  the  oats 
fed  to  stock. 


"EGYPT'S"   RESOURCES.  25 

I  redeem  fields  that  are  becoming  impoverished  by  seeding 
to  clover.  When  the  clover  has  fully  matured  I  use  the  roll- 
ing cutter  and  plow  in  the  field,  turning  the  whole  crop  under, 
then  seed  to  wheat,  always  with  good  results.  After  the 
wheat  comes  off  and  another  crop  of  clover  comes  on,  it  is 
again  plowed  under  and  the  land  sown  in  wheat.  By  seeding 
for  three  consecutive  years,  the  land  is  as  good  as  before  it  was 
broken. 

A  TRUCK  PATCH. 

I  have  an  apple  orchard  of  BOO  trees,  all  well  selected,  a 
large  majority  of  which  are  Summer  fruits,  and  from  which  I 
receive  quite  a  good  income.  A  part  of  the  apples  are  used 
for  making  cider,  and  a  portion  stowed  in  the  cellar  every  year 
for  home  consumption.  The  expenses  of  the  whole  farm  are 
cleared  every  year  on  what,  in  "  Egypt,"  is  called  a  "  truck 
patch,"  which  consists  of  a  few  acres  cultivated  in  sweet  pota- 
toes, Irish  potatoes,  and  the  Multiplier  onion. 

My  house  is  a  wooden  structure,  18x86  feet,  built  on  the 
L  style,  situated  on  a  beautiful  table-land  near  the  forest, 
and  is  surrounded  by  a  beautiful  grove  of  deciduous  and  ever- 
green trees,  making  it  a  most  desirable  home.  My  whole  farm 
is  ridge-land  ;  not  an  acre  of  bottom  on  it.  The  growth  of 
timber  is  white  oak,  hickory,  yellow  poplar,  walnut,  and  gray 
ash.  The  undergrowth  is  principally  pawpaw,  red-bud,  and 
dog-wood,  all  indicating  the  best  of  soil. 

"  EGYPT'S  "  RESOURCES. 

Twenty-five  years  ago  I  began  on  a  forty-acre  lot  in  the 
woods  of  this  place.  There  was  a  little  log  cabin  on  it  then, 
which  I  moved  into,  and  went  to  work  clearing  off  the  heavy 
timber  preparatory  to  making  a  support  for  myself  and  wife. 
By  perseverance  and  good  management  I  have  been  enabled  to 
buy  an  adjoining  forty-acre  lot,  and  so  kept  on  in  the  good 
work  of  buying  forty-acre  lots  until  my  farm  now  contains  300 
acres,  which  is  seven  and  a  half  times  what  it  was  when  I  com- 
menced. At  that  time  I  owned  no  other  land  than  the 
forty  acres,  and  it  unimproved,  had  one  horse  and  a  plow,  a 


26  UNION  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

chopping  axe,  grubbing  hoe,  and  maul  and  wedge.  I  began 
low  down  in  "  Egypt,"  where  thousands  of  our  countrymen 
who  live  at  a  distance  think  it  impossible  for  a  man  to  keep 
the  wolf  from  the  door.  This  is  a  delusion,  which,  ere  long, 
must,  and  will  be  dispelled.  There  are  but  few  places  so 
favorably  situated.  The  Ohio  River  just  a  little  on  one  side  of 
us,  the  Mississippi  just  a  little  on  the  other  side,  and  three  rail- 
roads just  between,  terminating  at  Cairo,  twenty -seven  miles 
south,  our  position  for  marketing  facilities  is  indeed  to  be 
envied.  The  lands  are  all  well  adapted  to  agricultural  pur- 
poses, and  for  horticulture  can  not  be  excelled.  While  thous- 
ands of  good  homes  can  be  had  on  easy  enough  terms  now, 
such  will  not  be  the  case  long.  "  Egypt's  "  resources  are  get- 
ting noised  abroad  ;  so  much  so,  that  before  another  decade  it 

o  * 

will  take  thousands  of  dollars  to  buy  a  home  that  might  now 
be  bought  for  hundreds. 

I  have  been  blessed  with  a  family  of  sons,  who,  as  soon  as 
they  attained  to  years  of  maturity,  relieved  me  from  hiring 
any  help,  except  an  occasional  hand  a  few  months,  so  that  it 
would  be  nearly  correct,  so  far  as  hired  help  is  concerned,  to 
say  that  my  expenses  have  been  nothing.  Through  a  series  of 
about  twenty-four  years  of  good  farming,  and  clearing  of  my 
land  at  the  same  time,  I  have  now  a  very  comfortable  home 
and  am  provided  against  future  want.  I  am  fifty  years  old, 
and  beside  the  farm,  I  own  a  large  dry-goods  and  general  mer- 
chandise establishment,  the  result  of  careful,  prudent  farming. 


GATES  ON  THE  FARM.  27 

DAVID  C.  GRAHAM, 

CAMERON,  WARREN  COUNTY. 

Thirty-six  Gates  on  the  Farm  None  too  Many — Clover  and  Tim- 
othy the  Best  Adapted  to  our  Prairies — Best  Time  to  Cut  It — 
Treatment  of  Pasture  and  Meadow  Land. 

MY   FARM 

adjoins  the  village  of  Cameron  on  the  east  and  south,  and 
contains  220  acres  of  rich  prairie  soil,  divided  into  fields  and 
fenced  with  hedge  and  rail  fences.  Eighty  acres  of  the  farm 
were  purchased  in  1857,  at  $30  per  acre  ;  the  remainder  since, 
at  $50  and  $75  per  acre.  There  are  on  the  farm  thirty-six 
gates  (none  to  many),  thirty  of  them  the  Teel  pattern,  the  re- 
mainder hinge  gates.  The  farm  is  conducted  as  follows :  one 
hundred  acres  in  pasture ;  thirty  acres  in  meadow  ;  ten  acres 
in  oats ;  seventy-five  acres  of  corn ;  five  acres  of  orchard  and  feed 
lots.  The  ten  acres  of  oats  are  seeded  down  every  Spring  with 
clover  and  timothy  seed ;  one  peck  of  the  former  and  four  to 
five  pounds  of  the  latter  to  every  acre,  and  in  case  of  a  failure 
from  any  cause,  the  seeding  is  continued  until  a  sufficient  stand 
is  made  to  exclude  the  weeds.  I  consider  timothy  and  clover 
the  best  adapted  to  our  prairie  soil,  and  no  other  soil  that  I 
ever  read  of  can  equal  the  prairies  of  this  State  for  these 
grasses.  What  we  sow,  the  same  kind  we  mow.  Timber,  or 
other  soils,  usually  have  a  tendency,  by  nature,  to  produce 
wild  grasses,  not  in  harmony  with  the  vigorous  growth  of  the 
clover  and  timothy.  Experience  of  twenty-two  years  demon- 
strates that  these  statements  are  correct. 

EVERY  YEAR 

about  ten  acres  of  the  pasture  land  are  broken  up  for  corn,  and 
ten  acres  of  the  first  seeding  of  the  meadow  let  out  for  pasture, 
so  that  the  same  number  of  acres  for  pasture,  meadow,  and 
corn,  are  available  every  year,  thus 'virtually  keeping  the  farm 


28  WARREN  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

in  a  good  state  of  cultivation,  without  the  tedious  process  of 
manuring.  The  pasture  is  generally  fed  close,  yet  it  affords  an 
abundance  of  feed.  The  grass  on  the  thirty  acres  of  meadow 
is  usually  cut  at  the 'proper  time,  not  at  either  of  the  two  ex- 
tremes in  vogue  in  regard  to  early  and  late  mowing. 

THE    PROPER    TIME   TO    CUT   CLOVER   AND    TIMOTHY 

(at  least  for  me)  is  when  it  matures,  but  not  so  as  to 
destro}^  its  nutritious  elements  by  permitting  it  to  remain  uncut 
until  the  seed  is  so  ripe  that  it  will  drop  off  in  handling,  while 
in  the  process  of  putting  it  away  for  future  use.  The  hay 
secured  from  the  above  thirty  acres  is  usually  put  under  cover, 
and  about  the  1st  of  September  stock  are  turned  on  the  after- 
grass and  generally  fed  close.  This  is  the  treatment  my  pas- 
ture and  meadow  lands  receive. 

In  growing  a  corn  crop,  the  most  important  elements  for 
success  are  rich  soil  and  proper  culture.  These  can  be  had  by 
seeding  down  in  the  above  grasses,  and  in  plowing  a  portion  of 
the  sod  land  every  year  for  corn.  After  the  corn  is  planted, 
harrowing,  rolling,  and  continual  plowing  gives  an  abundant 
yield.  This  is  my  mode  of  raising  corn,  and  the  result  is  satis- 
factory. 

HIGH   GRADE   DURHAMS. 

There  are  usually  kept  on  the  farm  from  forty  to  fifty  head 
of  high  grade  Durham  cattle,  of  different  ages.  Of  this  num- 
ber, one  car-load  of  steers  are  fed  for  market  every  year,  and 
sold  during  the  months  of  December  or  January.  From  calves 
they  are  well  cared  for,  and  about  the  first  of  September,  after 
they  are  two  years  old,  they  are  selected  and  fed  grain  until 
they  are  fat  (which  usually  takes  about  three  or  four  months), 
and  then  shipped  to  Chicago.  This  is  the  only  system  of  feed- 
ing, of  late,  that  I  can  find  any  profit  in. 

COWS    SOLD   ON   WARRANTY. 

Three  or  four  cows  are  sold  every  year  on  a  warranty ; 
that  is,  if  not  satisfactory  in  every  particular,  to  be  returned 
within  four  days  from  the  day  of  sale.  The  well  developed 
heifers  three  years  old,  with  their  first  calf,  are  handled  with 


POLAND  CHINA  HOGS.  29 

care,  and  take  the  place  of  those  sold,  while  those  that  are  not 
of  that  class  are  sold  to  the  butcher.  The  amount  of  butter 
sold  each  year,  besides  the  family  use,  is  about  500  pounds. 

POLAND   CHINA  HOGS. 

There  are  usually  raised  on  the  place  from  100  to  125 
head  of  hogs,  of  the  Poland  China  breed.  When  the  young 
pigs  begin  to  eat,  they  are  well  fed  on  corn  only,  and  at  three 
months  old  are  weaned;  the  sows  are  then  put  up  to  fatten, 
and  as  soon  as  fit  for  market  disposed  of,  while  the  young 
pigs,  having  a  full  range  of  pasture,  and  corn,  are  growing 
rapidly,  so  that  by  the  1st  of  January  they  usually  average  up- 
wards of  200  pounds  per  head.  The  1st  of  January  the 
choicest  sows  are  selected,  a  boar  put  with  them,  and  they  re- 
main together  six  weeks  only.  The  boar  is  castrated,  and  the 
breeding  is  at  an  end  for  the  year.  This  process  usually  gives 
the  number  of  pigs  required,  and  only  six  weeks  difference  be- 
tween the  oldest  and  youngest  pigs.  By  the  time  the  young 
pigs  are  ready  to  eat  corn,  the  previous  crop  of  pigs  are  usu- 
ally sold  off,  except  the  sows  that  have  raised  the  pigs.  This 
has  been  my  method  of  hog-raising  for  more  than  twenty  years, 
and  I  know  not  of  an  instance  when  I  bred  a  sow  the  second 
time,  although,  I  will  admit,  that  old  sows  breed  a  more  vigor- 
ous progeny.  With  this  system  of  breeding,  I  am  no  more 
liable  to  disease  with  my  young  sows  than  I  am  with  the  pigs 
from  full  developed  sows,  in  proof  of  which  I  have  not  had  a 
case  of  cholera  among  my  swine. 


30  WILL  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

ROBERT  MILNE, 

LOCKPORT,   WILL    COUNTY. 

Durham  Cattle — Poland  China  Hogs — Tile  Drainage — A  Bles- 
sing to  the  whole  State. 

KELVIN   GROVE 

is  situated  in  the  town  of  Lockport,  County  of  Will,  and  State 
of  Illinois,  and  consists  of  two  hundred  and  forty  acres.  It  is 
divided  into  nine  divisions,  viz.:  eighty  acres  adjoining  the  Town 
of  Lockport,  which  is  partially  covered  with  timber,  and  is  in 
permanent  pasture,  except  what  is  occupied  by  the  house, 
barns,  lawns,  and  orchard.  This  pasture,  about  sixty -five  acres, 
is  well  seeded  in  blue  grass  and  has  been  used  for  grazing  since 
1853,  when  it  came  into  my  possession.  The  rest  of  the  farm, 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  is  divided  into  eight  fields  of 
twenty  acres  each,  one  of  which,  in  connection  with  the  above 
pasture  lot,  remains  permanently  in  grass,  making  the  pasture 
on  the  farm  one  hundred  and  five  acres. 

The  seven  fields  of  twenty  acres  each  are  cultivated  every 
year  in  the  following  manner :  80  acres  in  corn,  20  acres  small 
grain,  and  40  acres  meadow. 

FOLLOWING  A  ROTATION  OF   SEVEN   "SHIFTS," 

when  all  the  manure  which  has  been  made  on  the  farm  during 
the  year  has  been  spread,  one  field  of  meadow  is  broken 
up  and  planted  with  corn  the  following  Spring.  One  field  is 
seeded  down  with  grass  with  the  small  grain.  I  manure  with 
bone-dust  one  of  the  fields  in  corn,  using  300  pounds  per  acre. 
This  rotation,  it  will  be  seen,  gives  four  continuous  crops  of 
corn  on  each  field,  but  is  manured  twice  during  that  course, 
the  meadows  only  remaining  in  grass  two  years.  This  plan  has 
proven  satisfactory,  the  farm  continuing  to  improve  in  fertility. 
The  stock  upon  the  farm  consists  of  from  forty  to  fifty 


PORK  AT   LEAST  EXPENSE.  31 

head  of  select  Durham  cattle,  the  breeding  of  which  has 
been  a  specialty  on  the  farm  for  the  last  twenty-five  years, 
commencing  in  1854  with  selections  from  the  best  herds  in 
Kentucky,  and  latterly  by  importations  at  different  times  from 
one  of  the  choicest  herds  in  Scotland.  Viscount  (18507)  was 
imported  by  me  in  1873  and  stood  at  the  head  of  my  herd  for 
five  years.  He  is  now  owned  by  Verry  Aldrich  of  Tiskilwa, 
Bureau  County,  111.,  and  heads  a  very  valuable  herd  of  Short 
Horns.  My  herd  has  been  kept  entirely  for  breeding  purposes, 
consequently  I  have  had  but  few  fat  cattle  to  sell,  the  produce 
being  disposed  of  readily  as  breeders,  the  prices  of  which  have 
varied  with  the  times,  but  generally  have  paid  a  reasonable 
profit,  at  least  more  than  the  common  stock  of  the  country. 
If  the  best  will  not  pay,  it  is  evident  that  the  poorest  will  not. 
My  investment  in  blooded  stock  has  been  very  large,  but  in 
this  I  have  nothing  to  regret  and  would  take  the  same  course 
were  I  to  begin  again.  My  herd  is  all  comfortably  housed  dur- 
ing the  winter. 

THREE  SPAN  OF  HORSES, 

a  few  brood  mares  and  colts,  twelve  or  fourteen  in  all,  in 
addition  to  a  carriage  horse,  compose  the  working  power  of  the 
farm.  Besides  the  home  farm,  I  own  other  farming  lands,  which 
are  cultivated  with  the  same  force  of  horses.  The  Clydesdale  or 
Norman  Stud  crossed  with  our  common  mares,  I  regard  as  pro- 
ducing the  best  class  of  horses  for  use  on  the  farm,  the  former 
rather  preferred. 

HOGS   FORM   AN    IMPORTANT 

factor  in  the  profits  of  my  farm.  I  try  to  keep  the  breed  that 
will  produce  the 

MOST   PORK   AT   THE   LEAST    EXPENSE. 

I  breed  the  pure  Poland  China,  of  which  I  keep  about  ten 
sows  and  their  annual  produce  of  fifty  or  sixty  pigs,  which  by 
proper  care  and  feeding  can  be  made  to  weigh  three  hundred 
pounds  at  nine  months  old.  This  I  regard  as  the  most  profit- 
able way  of  making  pork.  I  only  raise  one  litter  a  year,  and 
feed  corn,  oats,  bran  and  milk  while  young,  with  a  clover  past- 


32  WILL  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

ure  to  run  on  in  Summer,  where  the  pigs  have  access  to  pure 
spring  water.     With  such  treatment  I  have  escaped  disease. 

COST  OF   PRODUCTION. 

Without  particularizing,  I  would  say  that  I  use  on  the 
farm  all  the  modern  improved  agricultural  tools.  I  find  this 
investment  a  very  heavy  item  of  expense.  My  system  being 
mixed  husbandry,  where  the  produce  is  nearly  all  consumed 
on  the  farm,  it  is  difficult  to  give  an  estimate  of  the  cost  of  pro- 
duction, but,  would  give  it  as  my  opinion  that  less  than  forty 
cents  per  bushel  for  corn,  and  four  dollars  a  hundred  for  pork, 
is  an  unprofitable  business  to  those  who  have  to  hire  the  labor 
to  produce  it. 

HAY. 

My  hay  is  cut  from  forty  acres  of  meadow.  It  consists 
of  timothy  and  clover,  and  is  cut  and  cured  as  follows  :  The 
grass  is  cut  one  day  with  a  mower,  and  by  the  use  of  the 
American  hay  tedder  is  invariably  put  into  the  barn  the  next, 
unless  prevented  by  unfavorable  weather.  Hay  cut  and  cured 
in  this  manner  retains  its  color  and  nutritious  qualities,  which 
is  a  very  important  item  to  those  who  consume  it  upon  the  farm. 
I  would  estimate  the  value  of  hay  thus  cured  at  twice  that 
which  is  exposed  to  the  sun  for  several  days  before  it  is  put 
in  the  mow. 

DRAINAGE. 

Were  I  asked  to  name  the  first  and  most  important  improve- 
ment to  be  made  on  a  new  farm,  I  would  say  thorough 
drainage,  as  both  labor  and  manure  are  nearly  lost  on  wet, 
undrained  land.  Not  only  are  the  wet  spots  a  dead  loss,  but 
their  influence  is  a  decided  injury  for  a  considerable  area  around 
them.  No  expenditure  will  pay  the  farmer  better  than  the  drain- 
ing of  every  slough  and  low  place  upon  his  farm,  if  judiciously 
and  properly  done.  Ditching  and  tile  draining  is  a  business  of 
itself.  It  requires  judgment  and  experience  to  understand  the 
amount  of  fall,  the  size  of  tile  necessary  to  take  the  water  from 
a  low  spot  in  time  to  save  the  crop  during  heavy  freshets. 
The  writer  has  had  considerable  experience  in  draining  both 


A  SHEEP  FARM.  33 

here  and  in  his  native  country,  and  would  advise  those  who 
are  not  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  business  to  employ  a 
professional  drainer  rather  than  risk  a  failure.  The  cost  of 
tile  varies  according  to  the  proximity  to  tile  works.  The  ex- 
pense of  digging  the  drain  I  should  estimate  at  from  12  to  16 
cents  a  rod,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  subsoil.  No  drain 
should  be  less  than  three  feet  deep,  when  the  fall  will  permit 
of  it.  A  general  system  of  drainage  throughout  the  State  of 
Illinois  would  not  only  be  a  great  benefit  to  the  agricultural 
interest,  but  it  would  modify  the  climate  so  as  to  be  a  blessing 
to  the  whole  community. 


GEORGE  CAREY, 

BOCHELLE,    OGLE    COUNTY. 

A  Sheep  Farm — How  to  Make  a  G-ood  Flock  of  Sheep — Sigh 
Grade  Merino  Ewes — Full  Blooded  Long  Wool  Rams  the 
Best  Sheep  for  Mutton  and  Wool — Plan  for  Feeding  Rack. 

SHEEP  FOB  MUTTON    AND   WOOL. 

Sheep  to  be  profitable,  east  of  the  Mississippi,  should  be 
sufficiently  large  and  well  proportioned  to  sell  readily  for  ex- 
port to  Europe.  They  should  shear,  at  least,  six  pounds 
of  washed  wool.  They  should  be  sufficiently  hardy  to  flourish 
in  flocks  of  several  hundred.  They  should  have  such  a  dis- 
position to  fatten  that  the  ewes,  when  not  suckling  lambs,  will 
be  suitable  for  mutton,  and  the  wethers  never  poor  on  reason- 
able feed.  I  know  of  no  distinct  breed  that  possesses  all  of 
these  good  qualities. 

LONG  WOOL    SHEEP. 

Leicester,  Lincoln,  and  Cotswold  are  each  large  and  well  pro- 
portioned sheep,  and  shear  large  fleeces  of  wool,  but  their  very 
long  wool  is  not  the  most  salable,  and  in  this  climate  is  liable 
to  become  so  matted  that  it  will  not  comb  and  can  then  only 
be  sold  at  a  low  price.  It  is  also  true  that  these  long  wool 
3 


34  OGLE  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

sheep  are  not  very  hardy  with  us,  and  will  do  well  only  in 
small  flocks. 

SOUTH    DOWNS    AND  MERINOS. 

South  Down  sheep  are  hardy  and  prolific,  and  make  the 
best  of  mutton,  but  they  are  rather  small  and  shear  the  least 
of  any  improved  breed.  Merinos  are  the  most  hardy  and  will 
thrive  better  in  larger  flocks  than  any  other  breed,  but  they 
are  not  very  prolific,  and  do  not  amount  to  much  as  mutton 
sheep. 

THE  BAM    SHOULD   BE   WELL  BBED. 

I  have  had  some  experience  with  each  of  these  breeds, 
and  with  sheep  crossed  and  mixed  in  almost  every  conceivable 
way,  and  this  would  be  my  advice  to  a  beginner :  buy  a  uni- 
form flock  of  high  grade  Merino  ewes ;  then  get  a  good  full- 
blooded  long-wool  ram,  either  Leicester,  Lincoln  or  Cotswold. 
I  should  prefer  a  Leicester,  because  they  fatten  the  most 
readily,  and  are  not  quite  so  high  priced  as  the  other  long 
wools  ;  then  the  Leicester  head  is  somewhat  smaller  than 
the  Lincoln  or  Cotswold,  so  that  small  ewes  are  less  likely 
to  have  trouble  in  lambing.  Of  this  there  is  very  little  danger, 
however,  if  the  ram  is  well  bred.  It  is  the  mongrel  male  that 
makes  trouble  of  this  kind,  for  the  get  of  highly  bred  ani- 
mals is  always  small  at  birth.  This  is  why  it  is  safe  to  breed 
the  large  Percheron-Norman  to  our  common  mares.  For  far- 
ther proof  of  this  proposition,  compare  the  head  and  neck  of 
the  mongrel  bull  with  that  of  the  highly  bred  Short  Horn  or 
Devon,  or  the  head  and  neck  of  the  thoroughbred  horse  with 
that  of  the  mongrel  stallion. 

THIS   FIBST    CEOSS   OF  MEBINOS 

and  long  wool  sheep  will  give  you  the  highest  priced  wool,  and 
increase  the  size  of  your  sheep  without  diminishing  the  weight 
of  wool  per  fleece.  Though  the  weight  of  wool  will  not  be  so 
great  in  proportion  to  the  weight  of  carcase. 

I  would  continue  to  use  long  wool  rams  until  the  wool 
gets  to  be  six  to  eight  inches  long.  I  would  then  use  a  South 
Down  ram,  which  would  shorten  and  thicken  the  wool,  and 


PLENTY  TO  EAT  AND  DRINK. 


35 


improve  the  quality  of  the  mutton.  After  making  one  cross 
with  the  South  Down,  I  would  return  to  the  long  wool  rams 
and  proceed  as  before.  In  this  way  we  get  the  most  desirable 
wool  and  mutton  sheep  for  this  climate  without  great  expense. 
Below  is  a  drawing  of  an  excellent  rack  for  feeding  sheep. 
It  consists  of  a  box  16  feet  long,  2£  feet  wide,  and  8  inches 
deep.  At  the  top  of  this  box  on  each  side  is  a  rack,  like  a  lad- 
der lying  on  its  edge,  which  may  be  opened  to  receive  the 
hay,  and  closed  while  the  sheep  are  feeding.  The  rounds  of  the 
ladder  should  be  far  enough  apart  to  allow  the  sheep's  head  to 
pass  through,  and  close  enough  together  to  keep  the  hay  in. 
Fig.  1  shows  the  rack  open  to  receive  the  hay.  Fig.  2  shows 
the  same  closed.  A  post  on  each  side  of  the  rack  keeps  it  from 
opening  too  far.  Sheep  will  waste  less  hay  and  get  less  of  it 
into  the  wool  of  their  necks  with  this  rack  than  with  any  I 
know  of. 

PLAN   OF  AN  EXCELLENT     BACK    FOR  FEEDING   SHEEP. 


FIG.  1. 


FIG.  2. 


36  HENRY  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

N.  C.  GILBERT, 

GENESEO,   HENRY   COUNTY. 

No  Field  under  Cultivation  More  than  Five  Tears — Fifty  Bush- 
els of  Corn  and  Two  Tons  of  Hay  per  Acre — "  Movable  Self- 
Feeder"  for  Stock — Merino  Sheep — Tile  Drainage. 

My  farm  consists  of  about  two  hundred  and  forty 
acres.  It  is  high,  rolling  prairie  land,  and  each  field  is  adapted 
to  the  growing  of  grain,  pasturage  and  meadow.  Corn  and 
grass  are  the  principal  products  raised,  and  are  mostly  con- 
verted into  pork,  beef,  mutton  and  wool  on  the  farm. 

Whenever  a  field  is  sown  with  small  grain,  it  is  also  sown 
with  clover  and  timothy  seed.  It  is  intended  not  to  keep  a 
field  under  the  plow  more  than  five  years  before  seeding.  All 
fine  manure  made  on  the  farm,  is  scattered  on  meadows  and 
pastures,  and  the  coarser  portion  is  put  on  fields  intended  for 
corn.  By  this  method  over  fifty  bushels  of  corn  per  acre  is 
raised,  and  not  less  than  two  tons  per  acre  of  hay. 

NORMAN     HORSES 

are  taking  the  lead  for  general  farm  use,  in  this  section. 

GRADE  SHORT    HORN   CATTLE 

are  considered  best  for  beef  and  milk.  Many  farmers  are  of 
opinion  that  steers  fed  with  corn  while  running  on  past- 
ure are  much  more  profitable  than  those  fed  through  the 
long  cold  months  of  Winter  and  Spring.  For  convenience  in 
feeding  in  the  field, 

A   MOVABLE   " SELF   FEEDER  " 

is  constructed,  that  will  hold  enough  shelled  corn  to  supply  a 
car  load  of  steers  for  a  month,  thus  obviating  the  necessity  of 
hitching  up  a  team  for  feeding  them  daily,  or  of  carrying  corn 


TILE   DRAINAGE.  37 

in  a  basket.  This  bin,  having  a  good  roof  over  it,  will  keep 
the  corn  in  as  good  condition  as  though  in  a  granary  or  crib. 

COTSWOLD  AND  MERINO  SHEEP. 

Where  flocks  of  sheep,  of  one  hundred  or  less,  are  kept, 
the  Cotswold  is  undoubtedly  the  best.  I  keep  a  flock  of  four 
hundred  Merino  sheep,  and  consider  that  they  pay  me 
well,  in  both  wool  and  mutton,  and  also  in  keeping  up  the  fer- 
tility of  the  farm.  The  ewes  should  be  bred,  so  as  to  have 
the  lambs  come  in  April,  while  the  sheep  are  still  in  their 
winter  quarters,  as  it  is  much  less  trouble  to  give  them  the  at- 
tention required  at  that  time,  than  when  they  are  roaming 
about  the  fields.  Lambs  should  be  weaned  the  first  of  Sep- 
tember and  allowed  a  ration  of  grain  daily,  until  the  grass  has 
well  started  the  next  May.  Good  Merino  lambs  will  shear  ten 
Ibs.  per  head  at  a  little  past  one  year  old  ;  and  after  they  are 
sheared,  weigh  from  eighty  to  one  hundred  pounds  and  be 
ready  for  the  butcher.  My  practice  is  to  shear  the  latter  part 
of  April,  without  washing.  A  good  shelter  is  necessary  to 
the  successful  raising  of  sheep  ;  as  they  should  not  be  allowed 
to  get  wet  from  the  first  of  November  until  the  warm  rains  of 
Spring. 

THE     OUTBUILDINGS 

on  my  farm  are  a  barn,  fifty  by  eighty-four  feet,  with  a  base- 
ment for  stabling  horses,  cattle  and  sheep  ;  a  hog  house,  thirty 
by  forty  feet,  with  scale  house  attached,  and  two  double  cribs, 
each  forty  feet  in  length. 

A  convenient  size  for  cribs,  is  a  building  twenty-six  by 
forty  feet,  with  twelve  feet  posts.  This  gives  two  cribs  eight 
feet  wide,  and  a  driveway  of  ten  feet,  and  will  hold  three 
thousand  bushels  of  corn. 

TILE    DRAINAGE. 

Too  much  can  not  be  said  with  regard  to  the  advantages 
of  tile  drainage.  My  experience  in  laying  tile  reaches  back 
for  a  period  of  nine  years.  Have  laid  more  or  less  nearly  every 
year  since,  until  nearly  all  the  ravines  in  my  farm  produce  a 


38  HENRY  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

crop  as  well  in  a  wet  season  as  in  a  dry.  Another  advantage 
in  tile  drainage,  besides  the  increase  in  the  production  of  crops, 
is  the  convenience  with  which  a  field  can  be  cultivated.  In 
these  days  of  sulky  plows,  check  rowers  and  two  horse  culti- 
vators, much  time  is  saved  in  being  able  to  go  the  full  length 
of  the  field  at  every  turning.  In  fact,  where  a  wet  ravine 
runs  diagonally  across  a  field,  I  consider  that  a  tile  drain  will 
well  pay,  in  two  years,  all  expenses  of  construction.  I  have  used 
tile  varying  in  size  from  three  to  six  inches.  The  three  and 
four  inch  sizes  are  mostly  used  in  this  region.  Where  the  fall 
and  outlet  are  sufficient,  the  tile  should  be  placed  about  three 
feet  below  the  surface.  The  cost  of  putting  in  a  four  inch 
drain,  including  price  of  tile  at  factory,  is  about  fifty  cents  a 
rod,  varying  according  to  condition  of  soil  and  manner  of 
doing  the  work. 

Land  in  this  part  of  the  country  is  worth  from  fifty  to 
seventy-five  dollars  per  acre.  We  are  near  markets,  and  are 
well  supplied  with  schools  and  teachers.  The  climate  is 
healthy*  the  land  high  and  dry,  and  we  are  pretty  sure  of  a 
fair  crop  every  season.  In  my  opinion,  but  very  little  better 
farming  country  can  be  found  elsewhere,  or  one  occupied  by  a 
more  intelligent  and  enterprising  class  of  citizens. 


WELL  UNDER-DRAINED.  39 

JAMES  ANDERSON  AND  HENRY  K.  SMITH, 

MAGNOLIA,   PUTNAM  COUNTY. 

Hog  Farm  and  Hog  House — Never  Had  Hog  Cholera —  Why  ? 
Soap  Suds  are  Freely  Used  in  Swill — Clover  and  Oats  both 
Valuable  and  Superior  Feed — Much  Pleased  with  Arti- 
chokes— Plan  for  a  Hog  House. 

JAMES  ANDERSON'S  FARM. 

My  farm  is  of  eighty  acres,  situated  in  Magnolia,  Putnam 
County,  and  is  essentially  a  hog  farm.  I  turn  off  annually 
about  sixty  head  of  fat  hogs,  averaging  about  450  pounds. 
This  year  they  will  average  447  pounds.  I  raise  about  all  the 
grain  my  hogs  eat,  on  my  own  farm.  My  rye  and  oats  are 
generally  sold.  I  hav.e  never  had  any  hog  cholera,  and  attrib- 
ute my  freedom  from  this  disease  to  always  putting  the  soap 
suds  with  the  slop  on  wash  days.  I  always  aim  to  have  a 
heavy,  even  lot  of  hogs,  and  always  market  them  myself. 

THE  FARM  IS   WELL  UNDER- DRAINED. 

The  peculiar  feature  of  my  farm  as  to  many  others  in  this 
county  is  that  it  is  well  under-drained  with  250  rods  of  tile 
and  open  ditches.  There  is  not  a  foot  of  land  not  in  use. 
I  raise  uniformly  good  crops,  good  hogs,  and  I  am  making 
money.  I  came  on  the  farm  ten  years  ago,  and  found  it  in  bad 
condition,  with  no  improvements  worth  mentioning,  and  a  poor 
crop  the  year  previous.  I  paid  cash  down  for  the  farm,  except 
$500  and  interest  which  I  have  paid  since.  (Paid  $37.50  per 
acre,  and  consider  it  now  worth  $60  per  acre.)  I  have  paid 
out  in  cash  for  horses,  cattle,  breeding  hogs  and  buildings  and 
other  improvements  (such  as  fences,  tiling,  wagons  and  farming 
implements),  including  the  $500  on  land,  the  amount  of  $4,900, 
besides  my  living,  hired  help  and  taxes.  This  amount  has 
been  made  in  ten  years  from  the  eighty  acres,  and  I  now  con- 
sider the  farm  is  in  better  condition  than  ever  before.  The 


40  PUTNAM   COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

income  has  been  $490  per  year,  besides  paying  taxes,  living  of 
family,  and  hired  help.  (I  have  had  no  boys  of  my  own  to 
help  me.)  My  farming  operations  give  the  following  results 
this  year : 

12  acres  in  pastures,  10  acres  being  in  yards  and  lots. 

34        "        corn,  estimated  at  60  bushels  per  acre. 

7  "        oats,      449  bushels,  machine  measure. 

8  "        rye,       210        "  " 
4£      "        wheat,    97        "  " 

4|      "        clover,  two  crops,  14  tons  of  hay. 

1  acre  in  potatoes,  115  bushels. 

On  tile  drainage  I  am  quite  enthusiastic,  and  advise  farm- 
ers to  put  in  but  little  two-inch  tile,  as  I  had  to  take  up  my 
two-inch  and  replace  it  with  three-inch.  My  motto  in  farm 
work  is  to  do  every  thing  well. 

HENRY  K.  SMITH'S  HOG  HOUSE. 

I  am  now  stocking  my  own  farm  of  eighty  acres  with  hogs. 
I  am  breeding  twenty  sows  now,  to  come  in  last  of  March  next. 
Will  sow  the  whole  farm  down  to  clover  as  soon  as  possible.  I 
have  forty  acres  in  grass  and  clover  now,  and  will  sow  twenty 
acres  more  in  the  Spring.  My  plan  is  to  build  a  good  hog 
house  in  the  center  of  the  farm,  at  the  junction  of  four  fields, 
run  200  or  250  pigs  on  the  four  fields  of  clover,  with  plenty  of 
good  slop,  until  they  are  about  eight  months  old,  and  market 
them.  From  experiments  I  believe  that  twenty  acres  of  clover 
is  as  valuable  for  hog  feed  as  twenty  acres  of  corn.  And  I 
am  convinced  that  wintering  stock  hogs  is  not  profitable,  and 
that  a  hog,  if  hurried,  is  more  profitable  at  eight  or  nine  months 
than  at  fifteen  or  eighteen  months.  All  that  a  growing  pig 
needs  beside  good  clover  is  plenty  of  good  slop,  made  from 
ground  oats  with  the  hulls  sifted  out  and  plenty  of  milk.  I 
believe,  with  such  treatment,  a  pig  at  eight  months  would 
weigh  300  pounds,  which  is  only  a  gain  of  one  and  one-quarter 
pounds  per  day.  Of  course,  to  obtain  such  results,  the  owner 
must  be  with  his  pigs  and  attend  to  them  closely.  It  is  evident 
that  something  of  the  kind  must  be  done  in  order  to  stop  the 


CO-OPERATION  IN  HOG  RAISING. 


41 


great  drain  upon  our  soil  in  the  hog-raising  regions  of  the 
West,  for  by  grazing  pigs  on  clover  we  get  the  benefit  of  the 
droppings  over  the  fields. 

CO-OPERATION  IN  HOG  RAISING. 

I  can  conceive  how  two  neighbors,  on  adjoining  farms,  might 
cooperate  in  hog  raising.  One  farmer  sow  to  clover,  and  stock 
up  with  hogs  enough  to  eat  it ;  the  other  farmer  raise  the 
grain  they  would  need  to  feed.  In  the  course  of  five  or  six 


Keith 


Field  of  Clover 


Field  of  Clover 


Field  of  Clover 


Field  of  Clover 


Soyth 


years  change  about.  Hogs  can  not  be  grown  without  some 
grain.  Use  plenty  of  oats  for  slopping.  Feed  some  corn  to 
the  brood  sows  during  Winter,  and  perhaps  some  might  be  fed 
profitably  for  two  or  three  weeks  to  pigs  before  going  to  market. 
Oats  I  think  a  superior  feed  for  hogs,  if  ground  fine,  hulls  sifted 
out,  and  stirred  into  boiling  water.  Sweet  pumpkins  are  an 
excellent  feed  for  hogs,  especially  brood  sows,  and  are  much 
more  easily  raised  than  corn.  I  am  raising  artichokes  for  hogs 
and  am  much  pleased  with  them. 

I  am  building  a  hog  house  40x40  at  outside.     The  central 
portion  of  it  is  24x24,  and  stands  higher,  with  cement  floor,  and 


42  PULASKI  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

sides  built  of  concrete,  to  make  it  fire-proof,  and  contains 
feed  bin,  steamer,  and  well  or  cistern.  There  are  to  be 
continuous  troughs  next  to  the  thirty  pens  for  the  brood 
sows.  The  pens  are  to  be  eight  feet  long  and  five  feet 
wide  at  outside,  and  in  the  form  of  shedding,  and  have  a  floor 
made  of  coal  tar,  gravel  and  sand.  Also  a  feed  floor  of  the 
same  material.  As  to  the  arrangement  of  troughs  and  appli- 
ances for  slopping,  I  have  not  decided,  but  expect  to  get  some 
good  ideas  from  "  MODEL  FABMS." 


MARK  L.  HUGHS, 

OLMSTEAD,  PULASKI  COUNTY. 

Winter  Wheat  Farm — Durham  Cattle — Sheep  and  Hogs. 

My  homestead  farm  contains  800  acres  of  land,  in  one 
body.  Probably  the  best  farm  in  Pulaski  County.  I  own 
2,200  acres  of  other  land  in  the  same  county.  The  house  and 
buildings  are  about  in  the  center  of  the  homestead,  from  which 
nearly  all  of  the  farm  can  be  seen.  The  land  is  rolling,  with 
medium  rich  top-soil  and  yellow  clay  for  sub-soil.  This  farm 
has  been  cleared  for  a  good  many  years.  The  oldest  fields 
are  now  in  clover,  and  covered  with  a  flock  of  sheep. 

Of  the  homestead  farm,  650  acres  are  cleared,  which  at 
present  contains:  335  acres  of  wheat,  110  clover,  105  corn,  20 
timothy,  20  red  top,  20  orchard  grass. 

The  remainder  of  the  farm,  except  barnyard,  garden,  and 
several  acres  around  the  house,  is  'rented,  of  which  nearly  all 
is  in  corn.  My  dwelling  is  a  large,  two-story  building,  of  semi- 
modern  style.  My  orchard  is  on  the  west  of  the  house.  The 
barn,  which  is  no  doubt  the  largest  in  the  county,  is  of  one 
and  a  half  stories,  the  sides  forming  horse  and  cow  stalls.  Its 
capacity  is  about  seventy-five  tons  of  hay,  3,000  bushels  of 
corn,  twenty  horse  and  twenty  cow  stalls,  with  a  roadway  of 
thirty  feet,  extending  its  full  length.  The  cows  are  stalled 
singly,  with  no  room  to  turn  around.  They  are  haltered, 


SHORT  HORNS  AND  SWINE.  43 

and  fed  crushed  corn  and  bran,  together  with  pumpkins 
during  the  Fall  of  the  year.  The  horses  and  mules  are  fed  in 
long  troughs,  with  hay  racks  extending  the  full  length  of  their 
portion  of  the  barn.  I  have  but  three  horses ;  all  other  work- 
ing stock  being  mules  of  large  size. 

SHEEP. 

The  wood-pasture,  leading  from  the  barnyard,  contains  a 
large  artificial  pond,  which  is  filled  by  a  brook  running  from 
the  northern  part  of  the  farm.  From  the  barn  one  enters  the 
sheep  house,  which  is  of  good  size,  with  a  rack  extending  the 
full  length  of  the  building  about  ten  feet  in  hight.  The 
building  is  one  and  a  half  stories  high,  and  made  so  that  it  can 
be  lengthened  at  any  time.  Its  capacity,  with  side  sheds,  is 
400  sheep,  without  discomfort.  I  have  a  flock  of  300  head  at 
the  present,  200  ewes  and  100  wethers,  but  it  is  my  desire  to 
obtain  a  flock  of  500  ewes,  which  I  consider  large  enough  for  a 
farm  of  this  size,  the  product  of  which  will  be  marketed 
every  year,  selling  the  old  ewes  and  breeding  from  young  and 
pure  stock.  I  breed  from  two  full  blooded  rams,  they  being  of 
the  Leicester  and  Lincoln  stock,  which  I  think  are  best  for 
market  and  are  most  suited  for  this  part  of  the  State.  I  cross 
with  the  best  of  common  stock  of  my  own  selection.  In  my 
present  flock  I  have  a  good  many  young  ewe  lambs  that  are 
fine  specimens  of  the  cross,  and  a  few  that  resemble  the  pure 
Lincoln  stock. 

SHORT  HORNS  AND  SWINE. 

My  cattle  are  the  Durham.  I  have  five  large  cows  of 
three-fourths  blooded  Durham,  with  thirteen  yearling  calves  of 
same  blood,  mostly  heifers,  which  are  of  fine  size  and  good 
shape.  In  the  pasture  are  seventy  head  of  cattle,  all  but 
about  twenty  head  good  common  steers.  They  are  large 
and  in  good  order,  and  will  weigh  about  1,150  Ibs.  gross.  My 
stock  of  hogs  consists  of  150  head.  I  use  a  two-year  old  Po- 
land China  boar,  of  large  size,  standing  two  and  a  half  feet 
high,  and  weighing  about  190  pounds,  he  being  in  thin  flesh. 
Among  the  brood  sows  are  quite  a  large  number  of  Berkshires. 


44  PULASKI   COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

The  hog  pens  are  floored  and  have  low  roofs.  The  drove  is 
nearly  all  a  cross  between  the  Berkshire  and  Poland  China,  all 
of  well  formed  bodies. 

WHEAT. 

Under  a  large  shed  is  stored  away  agricultural  tools  unfit 
for  further  use,  plows  and  machinery  of  all  kinds.  All  my  im- 
plements and  machinery  are  cleaned  and  painted  every  Fall 
and  Winter.  The  wheat  granary  is  a  small  house  by  the  side 
of*  the  road,  holding  about  750  bushels  of  wheat.  I  sowed  in 
the  Fall  of  1879,  335  acres  of  the  Fultz,  Slosson,  Tennessee 
Red,  Red  Sea,  and  Red  May  varieties.  My  present  crop  was 
well  taken  care  of,  and  sold  soon  after  threshing  at  a  good 
price,  having  gathered  3,600  bushels  from  260  acres,  an  aver- 
age of  fourteen  bushels  to  the  acre.  I  do  my  own  threshing, 
and  thresh  for  others  also,  having  threshed  24,000  bushels  of 
wheat  for  my  neighbors,  together  with  large  crops  of  oats. 

LABOR. 

During  the  Summer  the  working  stock  is  fed  on  corn,  oats, 
and  hay.  My  ground  is  always  plowed  deep,  harrowed  well 
with  common  and  a  disk  harrow,  and  great  care  is  taken  how 
the  wheat  is  sown  with  the  drill.  I  am  in  the  field  all  the  time 
and  see  that  things  are  done  right.  During  seeding  time  I  em- 
ploy from  six  to  ten  men,  but  five  are  kept  the  entire  year. 
One  man  has  the  charge  of  the  barn,  it  being  his  duty  to  feed  all 
the  stock,  see  that  all  are  properly  bedded  and  curried,  harness 
the  working  animals  and  see  that  the  harness  does  not  bruise 
or  injure  them.  But  four  horses  are  kept,  including  a  buggy 
horse.  The  fields  of  wheat  are  pastured  with  sheep  all  Winter. 
The  sheep  are  driven  to  the  house  every  night  and  fed  clover- 
hay,  and  kept  from  the  wet  weather. 


FENCED  AND  SUBDIVIDED.  45 

J.  H.  OAKWOOD, 

CATUN,  VEBMILLION  COUNTY. 

Handles  Thorough  Bred  Horses,  Short  Horns,  High  Grades 
Berkshire  Hogs  and  Cotswold  Sheep — No  Dogs — The  Orchard 
a  Sacred  Spot — Pole  Drains. 

My  farm  contains  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  acres, 
eighty  acres  prairie,  twenty  acres  cleared,  thirty-two  acres 
seeded  to  blue  grass.  A  large  stream  and  two  smaller 
ones  furnish  unfailing  supplies  of  running  water.  The 
drainage  consists  of  a  half  mile  of  open  ditch,  three  feet 
deep  and  five  feet  wide  at  the  top,  and  an  equal  amount 
of  timbered  drain  the  same  depth.  These  drains  make 
all  the  land  sufficiently  dry  for  cultivation,  except  in  excessive- 
ly wet  seasons.  A  sufficient  amount  of  tile  and  mole  draining 
will  be  put  in  at  an  early  day  to  make  the  drainage  complete. 

The  farm  is  divided  into  nine  fields ;  two  containing 
eighteen  acres  each,  one  sixteen  acres,  one  fourteen  acres,  two 
eight  acres  each,  and  one  five  acres.  The  orchard,  barn  lots 
and  door  yard  five  acres. 


with  one  and  a  half  miles  of  osage  orange  hedge,  trimmed 
once  or  twice  each  year,  and  the  balance  "Virginia  rail  fence  " 
— not  the  most  attractive  fence  to  the  eye,  but  having  a  surplus 
of  timber,  the  cheapest  for  me  to  build,  and  always  good 
when  well  made.  The  farm  is  so  subdivided  that  all  the 
fields  but  one  have  running  water,  and  all  but  two  never  failing 
water. 

A  fish  pond  has  been  recently  made  by  throwing  a  dam 
across  a  ravine  near  its  head,  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long 
by  nearly  forty  feet  wide.  It  is  situated  one  hundred  and  fifty 


46  VERMILLION  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

yards  from  the  house,  and  will  furnish  a  good  supply  of  ice 
made  from  pure  water  for  Summer  use. 

BUILDINGS. 

The  barn  is  36x56  feet,  outside  posts  sixteen  feet,  siding 
dressed  and  painted.  The  barn  is  divided  into  stalls  for  cattle 
and  horses,  with  sufficient  cribs  and  granaries. 

The  carriage  house  and  tool  house  is  16x27  feet,  siding  12 
feet,  undressed  and  whitewashed. 

The  hog  house  is  an  old  building  20x40  feet,  and  is  divid- 
ed off  into  sleeping  apartments  and  feeding  floor.  The  sleep- 
ing apartments  are  used  for  breeding  sows  when  farrowing  in 
early  Spring.  The  hogs  are  bedded  with  straw,  and  the  pens 
cleaned  out  and  beds  renewed  every  five  or  six  days. 

HORSES. 

A  sufficient  number  of  horses  are  kept  to  do  the  farm 
work,  and  a  few  surplus  ones  are  raised.  The  brood  mares  are 
from  quarter  to  half  of  the  turf  or  thoroughbred  blood,  and  are 
crossed  with  the  heavier  breeds.  The  thoroughbred  blood 
gives  a  symmetrical  form,  clean  limbs,  good  action,  and  great 
power  of  endurance,  while  the  larger  breed  gives  size.  This 
cross  almost  invariably  produces  a  good  general  work  horse, 
good  for  the  plow,  the  saddle  or  the  road,  and  commands  a 
fair  price  in  the  market. 

CATTLE. 

The  cattle  are  thoroughbred  Short  Horns,  and  high  grades, 
and  are  kept  for  the  purpose  for  which  cattle  were  intended, 
beef  and  milk.  The  cows  with  me  are  as  good  milkers  as  the 
ordinary  breed,  when  dry  fat  readily,  and  when  desired  no 
longer  for  other  purposes,  bring  a  good  price  for  beef.  *  My 
experience  is  that  thoroughbreds  and  high  grades  make  more 
pounds  to  a  given  quantity  of  feed  than  the  common  breeds  ; 
and  when  sold  command  a  higher  price.  While  common 
breeds  will  but  little  more  than  pay  for  their  keep,  the 
good  blooded  cattle  will  yield  a  handsome  profit.  It  requires 
but  a  small  additional  outlay,  to  stock  a  farm  with  good  cattle. 


HOGS  —  SHEEP.  47 

Two  well  bred  cows,  if  properly  bred,  will  stock  an  ordinary 
sized  farm  in  a  few  years  with  a  good  herd  of  cattle,  and  a  few 
choice  bull  calves  sold  for  breeding  purposes  at  current  prices 
will  more  than  refund  the  original  purchase,  and  leave  the 
herd  clear  profit.  Beside  the  gain,  it  is  a  great  pleasure  to  a 
farmer  of  good  taste,  to  care  for  and  feed  a  herd  of  broad 
backed,  round  bodied,  and  beautifully  formed  cattle  ;  and  he 
is  not  ashamed  to  put  them  in  a  pasture  along  the  highway 
where  they  will  be  seen  by  passers-by. 

HOGS. 

The  hogs  kept  are  all  pure  bred  Berkshires,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  few  Poland  Chinas.  Each  breed  is  bred  pure,  and 
no  grades  are  raised.  Twelve  to  fifteen  brood  sows  are  kept, 
and  most  of  the  pigs  farrowed  in  March,  April,  and  May.  The 
younger  sows  are  allowed  to  raise  but  one  litter  of  pigs  each 
year,  but  the  older  and  matured  ones  bring  out  two  litters, 
early  Spring  and  Fall.  After  the  storms  of  Spring  are  past,  the 
sows  and  pigs  are  turned  out  on  a  blue  grass  pasture  and  fed 
dry  corn  and  slop.  The  stock  hogs  run  on  blue  grass  pastures 
and  are  fed  corn,  and  are  usually  fattened  while  running  on 
grass.  The  grass,  as  well  as  corn,  is  thus  turned  into  pork, 
and  I  think  that  hogs  keep  healther  and  fat  better  when  they 
have  an  abundance  of  such  green  food,  which  is  produced  without 
labor ;  besides~none  of  the  manure  is  lost,  being  distributed  over 
the  pastures  by  the  stock. 

SHEEP. 

A  small  flock  of  pure  bred  Cotswold  sheep  are  kept,  and 
are  the  most  profitable  stock  on  the  farm.  The  lambs  are 
dropped  in  March,  the  ewes  are  housed  nights  and  in  bad 
weather.  A  small  field  of  rye  is  sown  for  early  pasture,  which 
makes  rich  food  for  suckling  ewes  and  causes  them  to  yield 
an  abundance  of  rich  milk,  giving  the  lambs  a  good  start ; 
the  lambs  soon  learn  to  eat  the  green  rye  and  grow  very  fast 
and  become  very  fat.  Lambs  thus  raised  will  weigh  at  five 
or  six  months  old  one  hundred  pounds,  and,  with  good  grass 
and  feed,  two  hundred  pounds  at  two  years  old,  and  will  bring 


48  VERMILLION  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

from  three  to  five  dollars  per  hundred,  and  shear  from  four- 
teen to  fifteen  pounds  of  wool. 

Most  of  the  cattle  and  sheep  and  a  considerable  number 
of  hogs  are  sold  for  breeding  purpose. 

The  poultry  is  of  the  purest  and  best  breeds.  I  keep  no 
dogs,  but  if  I  did,  I  would  keep  no  "  cur  of  low  degree." 

The  above  indicates  my  system  of  farming,  which  is 
mixed  husbandry — growing  grain,  grass,  and  live  stock. 

The  stock  is  mostly  stabled  in  Winter,  and  all  the  manure 
saved  and  put  upon  the  land.  But  the  main  dependence  for 
improving  the  fertility  of  the  land  is  grass,  and  grazing  with 
live  stock. 

In  regard  to  my  system  of  handling  stock,  which  is  dif- 
ferent from  that  practiced  by  most  farmers,  I  want  to  say  a  word. 
I  keep  my  stock  divided,  according  to  age  or  condition,  into 
different  lots  and  pastures,  more  than  most  farmers  do.  This 
enables  me  to  give  them  feed  and  care  suited  to  the  different 
ages  or  conditions,  which  I  think  is  a  great  advantage. 

A   SYSTEM  OF  A  ROTATION   OF  CROPS 

is  practiced,  but  not  with  the  exactness  which  is  practiced 
in  older  and  less  fertile  countries.  My  rotation  is  about  as 
follows :  Say  six  years  in  meadow,  four  years  in  corn  ;  then 
oats,  followed  by  winter  wheat,  and  again  seeded  to  grass. 

The  pastures  are  five  in  number,  and  are  permanent  blue 
grass  pastures.  About  forty  acres  of  corn  are  raised  each  year, 
the  ground  being  well  plowed  and  harrowed,  or  dragged  with  a 
heavy  pole  before  planting ;  the  corn  is  check-rowed,  and 
after  it  comes  up  is  harrowed  and  rolled,  and  then  cultivated 
six  or  seven  times.  The  yield  is  from  fifty  to  seventy-five 
bushels  per  acre  according  to  the  season. 

About  twenty  acres  are  kept  in  timothy  and  clover  meadow, 
which  yields  li  to  2  tons  of  hay  per  acre.  The  remainder  of 
ground  for  wheat  is  well  prepared,  and  the  wheat  drilled  the 
first  week  in  September ;  the  yield  is  usually  from  twenty  to 
twenty-five  bushels  per  acre. 


SELL  WHEN  FIT  FOR  MARKET.  49 

ORCHARD. 

I  must  not  forget  the  orchard  ;  this  contains  one  hundred 
apple  trees  of  the  standard  varieties  for  this  latitude,  with  a 
good  supply  of  other  fruits  raised  in  Central  Illinois.  The 
orchard  is  a  sacred  spot,  and  is  not  profaned  by  the  tread  of  a 
horse  or  a  cow. 

DRAINAGE. 

My  experience  in  underground  drainage  is  of  recent  date. 
The  drains  are  three  feet  deep  ;  large  hickory  poles  about  five 
inches  in  diameter  are  laid  in  the  bottom  of  the  ditch,  one  on 
each  side,  then  split  slabs  of  timber  two  inches  thick  and 
twenty  inches  long  are  laid  across  on  these  poles,  leaving  a  drain 
five  by  ten  inches.  This  kind  of  drain  has  lasted  in  this 
neighborhood  fifteen  to  twenty  years.  Leading  into  these  drains 
I  shall  run  a  number  of  tile  and  mole  drains,  which  will 
thoroughly  drain  the  land.  The  drains  so  constructed  keep  con- 
stantly running  until  the  last  of  July;  and  while  previously  the 
land  was  wet  on  either  side  of  them,  now  it  is  in  fine  condi- 
tion for  cultivation,  the  corn  yielding  twice  as  much  as  on  the 
high  but  undrained  land. 


THOMAS   A.  POTTINGER, 

PERU,   LASALLE   COUNTY. 

He  Sold  Whenever  a  Crop  was  Fit  for  Market — Believes  in 
Gf-ood  Shelter  for  Stock — The  Windmill  an  Absolute  Neces- 
sity—  lile  Drainage  the  Best  Investment  a  Farmer  Can  Make 
— A  Cheap  Plan  for  Laying  Tile — A  Fortune  and  a  Happy 
Home. 

I  was  born  on  the  14th  day  of  February,  1842,  in  Cheshire, 
England.  Came  to  America  in  February,  1849.  Owing  to 
circumstances  beyond  my  control,  I  was  placed  in  the  Roches- 
ter Orphan  Asylum,  and  it  was  there  I  was  taught  those  habits 
of  industry  that  have  laid  the  foundation  to  a  success,  which, 
as  a  farmer  and  stock  raiser,  I  think  will  (considering  the  limit' 
4 


50  LASALLE  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

ed  means  at  my  command  in  starting  in  life)  compare  favorably 
with  that  of  the  average  young  man  of  this  country.  I  think  if 
I  owe  success  to  any  one  rule  more  than  another,  it  is  to  the  fact 
that  whenever  a  crop  was  ready  for  the  market  I  sold  it,  took  the 
money  and  paid  my  creditors,  who  always  appreciated  a  prom- 
ise that  was  fulfilled  at  the  time  of  maturity.  This  rule  followed 
up  enables  a  man  to  redeem  his  promises,  gives  him  a  repu- 
tation that  causes  every  one  to  repose  confidence  in  his  word, 
and  enables  him  to  purchase  at  generally  cash  figures.  The 
fact  is,  farmers  can  not  afford  to  be  speculators,  as  they  have 
not  the  means  to  hold  property  for  a  series  of  years.  Nine 
times  out  of  ten  the  man  who  sells  when  his  crop  or  stock  is 
ready  for  the  market  gets  the  best  prices,  besides  saving  inter- 
est and  reputation. 

The  farm  I  own  consists  of  340  acres.  It  is  quite  flat,  as 
most  of  the  land  is  in  this  part  of  Illinois.  Ninety  acres  was 
purchased  in  1856,  at  $12.50  per  acre ;  $19  per  acre  was  paid 
for  eighty  acres  in  1863,  and  $37.50  per  acre  was  paid  for  170 
acres  in  1872.  I  determined,  when  starting  in  life,  as  soon  as 
I  was  able  to  abandon  grain  raising,  and  as  soon  as  my  means 
would  allow  to  arrange  my  farm  so  that  I  could  raise  and  feed 
cattle  to  advantage. 

STOCK. 

For  ten  years  my  energies  have  been  bent  in  this  direction 
In  traveling  over  the  country  I  have  obtained  and  utilized, 
every  plan  that  would  save  labor  in  handling,  and  make  my  stock 
comfortable  and  profitable.  At  the  present  time  I  have  125 
head  of  cattle  that  feed  on  190  acres  of  land.  I  generally 
grow  eighty  acres  of  corn,  which  I  feed  during  the  year,  buy- 
ing as  soon  as  what  I  raise  is  all  fed.  I  also  feed  from  100  to 
150  head  of  hogs.  I  have  no  particular  rule  for  feeding  stock, 
but  I  always  keep  one  point  in  practice,  and  that  is  to  well  feed 
every  thing  I  own,  and  keep  it  in  a  thriving  and  fattening  con- 
dition. From  the  time  of  birth  to  the  time  of  shipment,  I  aim 
to  feed  as  much  ground  feed  (corn  and  oats  mixed)  to  my  sows 
and  pigs  and  young  calves  as  they  will  eat  without  wasting. 


FEEDING  SHEDS  AND  RACKS.  51 

To  the   sows   and  pigs  I  feed  meal  mixed   in  water,  to  my 
calves  I  feed  it  dry. 

In  raising  and  feeding  stock,  I  find  that  the  best  fcred  cattle 
and  hogs  are  decidedly  the  most  profitable.  It  therefore  be- 
hooves every  man  engaged  in  stock  raising,  to  breed  as  good 
stock  as  his  means  will  possibly  afford.  I  have  learned  by  experi- 
ence that  it  pays  best  to  maintain  good,  hog-tight  fences,  allow- 
ing shoats  to  run  at  will  over  cattle  pastures  ;  provide  comfort- 
able shelter  for  stock,  keep  them  fully  supplied  with  an  abundance 
of  fresh,  sweet,  and  clean  water ;  have  good,  strong  gates,  prop- 
erly hung,  instead  of  bars  ;  stack  up  all  the  hay  raised  in  sheds, 
accessible  for  the  cattle  to  feed  at  all  times.  Have  corn  cribs 
so  arranged  and  constructed  that  stock  can  be  fed  under  cover, 
and  that  no  grain  or  hay  is  wasted  in  mud  by  out-door  expos- 
ure. 

FEEDING   SHEDS. 

My  main  cattle  sheds  are  350  feet  long,  and  twenty-six  feet 
wide  by  eighteen  feet  high.  One  division  is  sixty  feet  long ; 
this  is  a  hay  shed,  proper,  and  the  cattle  are  fed  standing  on  the 
outside.  The  cattle  are  kept  out  by  bolting  2-10  plank  at  a  suit- 
able hight,  over  which  they  reach  and  draw  out  the  hay 
as  it  13  thrown  down.  The  second  division  is  125  feet 
long.  The  cattle  go  under  this  part  and  have  hay  thrown  from 
above  into  racks  placed  on  the  inside  of  the  building.  The  third 
division  is  fifty  feet  long.  This  has  a  corn  crib  on  one  side 
that  will  hold  1,800  bushels  of  corn.  The  floor  of  the  crib  ex- 
tends one  and  a  half  feet  and  makes  a  manger  to  feed  the  corn, 
which  is  let  out  of  the  crib  by  little  doors.  This  plan  saves 
the  trouble  of  twice  handling  the  grain.  On  the  opposite  side 
from  the  crib  is  a  manger  that  contains  sheaf-oats  and  hay,  let 
down  from  overhead.  The  fourth  division  is  115  feet  long. 
Mangers  are  placed  along  one  side  to  feed  corn.  This  shed  is 
also  used  for  shelter.  One  hundred  head  of  cattle  can  com- 
fortably feed  and  obtain  shelter  in  these  series  of  sheds.  The 
total  cost  of  construction  was  about  $800.  The  corn  crib  is 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
A7  URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 


52  LA  SALLE  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

filled  from  the  outside.  The  mangers  are  filled  from  a  wagon 
that  goes  in  at  one  end  and  out  at  the  other. 

FEEDING  RACKS. 

I  prefer  racks  for  feeding  hay,  to  mangers,  for  the  follow- 
ing reason:  In  feeding  in  mangers  the  cattle  often  crowd  and 
hook,  and  too  frequently  cattle  are  thrown  over  into  the  mangers 
and  killed.  This  is  often  the  case  with  the  mangers  at  the 
Union  Stock  Yards  at  Chicago.  The  manger  principle  is  faulty 
and  dangerous,  besides  being  expensive  by  cattle  wasting  hay- 
In  the  Spring  of  1877  I  had  a  good  four-year  old  steer  thrown 
into  a  manger  and  killed.  I  then  discarded  the  manger  and 
adopted  the  rack.  I  find  the  most  economical  one  for  use  is 
made  as  follows  :  In  constructing  it  in  a  building  or  by  the 
side  of  a  fence,  I  set  posts  two  and  a  half  feet  from  the  side  of 
the  wall,  have  them  reach  six  feet  out  of  the  ground,  nail  three 
fence  boards  six  inches  apart,  then  extend  a  small  manger  one 
foot  wide  on  a  level  with  the  bottom  of  the  rack.  This  manger 
is  for  the  purpose  of  saving  what  falls  out  of  the  cattle's 
mouths.  Under  the  rack  is  a  space  three  feet  wide  and  two 
feet  high.  This  space  serves  for  hogs  to  lie;  for  this  purpose 
it  is  a  great  advantage,  as  it  protects  the  hogs  from  being 
trampled  upon,  besides  being  more  healthy  for  the  hogs  to  be 
spread  out  instead  of  lying  so  thick  together. 

CATTLE   SHEDS 

should  be  so  arranged  that  husked  and  shocked  corn  can 
be  unloaded  inside,  thus  saving  the  labor  of  twice  handling 
fodder.  It  also  facilitates  hauling  out  manure.  All  first- 
class  cattle  sheds  should  be  provided  with  a  hay  carrier  to 
save  the  labor  of  taking  hay  long  distances.  In  laying  off 
stock  yards  and  making  cattle  sheds,  care  should  be  taken  to 
place  the  buildings  where  they  will  be  the  most  convenient  and 
afford  the  best  shelter ;  especially  should  they  be  protected 
against  the  north  and  west  winds.  Most  farmers  make  their 
buildings  without  any  general  plan.  The  result  is  there  is  no 
connection  and  no  shelter,  and  of  course  much  valuable  time  and 
labor  is  thrown  away.  The  surplus  water  in  buildings  should 


THE  WIND-MILL.  53 

be  carried  either  into  cisterns  or  disposed  of  as  waste,  so  that 
the  yards  may  be  dry  as  possible. 

EVERY  FEEDER 

should  have  a  first-class  three  or  four-ton  scale  on  his  farm. 
To  be  an  expert  in  judging  the  value  of  stock,  a  farmer 
should  know  very  nearly  the  weight  of  any  thing  he  wishes 
to  buy  or  sell  the  moment  he  places  his  eye  on  it,  otherwise 
the  world  will  overreach  him,  and  dearly  will  he  pay  for  his 
ignorance.  A  farmer  never  having  used  scales  can  not  appre- 
ciate their  value  ;  having  once  had  them,  he  will  not  be  without. 
Every  farmer  and  stock  feeder  should  have  one  pair  of  low 
wheels  or  trucks. 

THE  WINDMILL 

has  become  one  of  the  most  prominent  economies  of  the 
farm.  I  have  one  ten-foot  Halliday,  and  one  improved 
twelve-foot  California  windmill.  The  twelve-foot  mill  grinds 
about  150  bushels  of  grain  in  a  month,  on  the  average. 
It  also  pumps  well  water  at  a  distance  of  twenty-five  feet  from 
the  mill,  by  means  of  what  is  called  a  quadrant.  This  quad- 
rant also  drives  a  suction  pump  that  draws  the  water  from  a 
large  cistern  at  the  barn,  130  feet  distant.  It  also  has  an  at- 
tachment by  which  all  our  churning  is  done.  The  water  pumped 
is  conveyed  in  pipes  to  the  stable  door,  to  the  hog  sheds, 
and  wherever  it  is  wanted,  thus  saving  a  great  deal  of  labor 
and  supplying  water  to  the  stock  at  all  times  fresh  and  sweet. 
The  fact  is,  the  windmill  is  indispensable,  and  no  large  farmer 
can  afford  to  be  without  one. 

TILE  DRAINING. 

The  people  are  rapidly  waking  up  to  the  importance  of 
tile  draining.  In  this  part  of  La  Salle  County  there  is  much 
land  that  is  very  low  and  wet,  but  the  topography  of  the  coun- 
try is  such,  and  the  fall  is  so  good,  that  nine-tenths  of  the  land 
can  be  drained  advantageously.  Within  a  year  I  have  put 
down  10,000  tiles.  The  experience  of  laying  about  two  miles, 
has  taught  me  several  lessons  whereby  labor  can  be  saved 


54  LA  SALLE  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

in  putting  in  the  tile.  I  find  it  is  a  decided  advantage, 
after  surveying  and  finding  the  amount  of  fall  to  the  rod,  to 
plow  six  deep  furrows  with  a  common  plow,  then  with  a  road- 
grader  that  is  in  the  shape  of  a  ^,  scrape  out  the  loose  ground 
to  the  depth  of  eighteen  inches  ;  thus  in  the  start  one-third  of 
the  ditch  can  be  made  with  horses.  In  this  manner,  two  men 
with  two  teams  can  plow  and  scrape  out  two  or  three  hundred 
rods  a  day.  After  laying  down  the  tfle  carefully,  and  seeing 
that  each  tile  is  bedded  firmly,  I  cover  them  up  with  three  or 
four  inches  of  earth.  I  then  take  a  common  ground  plow,  at- 
tach the  clevis  in  the  staychain  iron  of  the  off-side  horse's 
whiffle-tree,  and  plow  two  rounds  in  this  way.  Then  I  place 
the  clevis  in  the  center  of  the  whiffle-tree,  and  keep  plowing 
round  and  round,  until  the  ditch  is  completely  covered.  By 
this  plan  one  man  and  a  team  will  cover  two  or  three  hundred 
rods  per  day.  The  advantage  of  tile  draining  can  be  seen  in 
the  next  crop,  and  the  superiority  of  the  crop  and  the  in- 
creased yield  makes  this  improvement  one  of  the  best  that 
the  thrifty  farmer  can  turn  his  attention  to. 

In  closing  this  article,  I  will  say  for  my  part,  as  a  farmer 
and  stock  raiser,  I  am  conscious  that  the  life  of  a  farmer  is  not 
a  poetical  one.  There  is  always  much  work  to  do,  however 
convenient  and  handy  every  thing  may  be,  but  so  long  as  I  can 
maintain  the  farmer's  independent  spirit,  I  ask  nothing  more. 
I  am  satisfied  to  move  down  the  stream  of  life  in  the  vocation 
which  has  made  me  a  fortune,  and  given  me  a  home  which 
I  probably  could  not  have  duplicated  had  I  followed  any 
other  calling  in  life. 


HAPPY  AND  PROSPEROUS.  55 

\ 

G.  W.  MINIER. 

MINIER,  TAZEWELL  COUNTY. 

A  Good  Farmer — Happy  and  Prosperous  —  Tree  Planting — 
Orchards  —  Vineyard  —  Farm  Teams  —  Mules  the  Best  for 
All  Work — Fowls — Drainage — Farm  Buildings — Mixed  Hus- 
bandry— Management  of  Stock  —  Dairying — Land — Sheep 
the  Most  Profitable. 

My  farm  in  Tazewell  County,  Illinois,  is  in  section  three, 
N.  E.  quarter,  town  twenty-three,  west  of  the  third  prin- 
cipal meridian,  containing  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres.  In 
addition  to  this  I  purchased  five  acres  adjoining  my  farm  on 
the  west. 

I  bought  my  quarter  section  from  the  United  States 
government  in  1850.  It  was  prairie,  with  a  skirt  of  hazel  copse 
of  some  ten  acres  on  the  west  side. 

Myself  and  family,  unaccustomed  to  country  life,  eagerly 
engaged  in  farming.  It  doubtless  would  have  been  amusing, 
and  probably  was,  to  see  us  at  our  work.  For  myself,  I  well 
recollect  that  I  found  some  things  about  the  harness  of  my 
horses  that  I  could  find  no  use  for.  So  many  useless  straps, 
buckles,  and  superfluous  rings.  They  were  neither  prose  nor 
poetry.  Schoolmaster,  civil  engineer  and  preacher,  as  I  was, 
or  rather  had  been,  I  could  not  engineer  the  "  tackling,"  as  I 
called  it,  on  the  horse's  back.  Despite  all  my  efforts,  the  har- 
ness would  flop  crosswise  of  the  animal's  back  and  become 
annoyingly  entangled  ;  and  not  unfrequently  when  hitching  to 
the  plow,  I  would,  to  use  a  sailor's  phrase,  get  the  "  larboard" 
horse  on  the  "starboard"  side.  And  then  such  jerking  of  lines, 
and  such  thinking  of  nnministerial  language.  The  poor 
horses,  meantime,  saying  as  plainly  as  they  could  speak, 
"  Hadn't  you  better  go  back  to  the  city ;"  or,  in  the  words 
of  the  girl,  when  the  shoemaker's  boy  was  measuring  her 


56  TAZEWELL  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

foot,  "  I  think,  sir,  you  are  a  little  above  your  business." 
"  But  time  and  chance  make  all  things  even,"  and  so  my 
tribulations  at  length  ceased,  or  rather  were  overcome.  My 
horses  and  I  are  on  good  terms  now,  and  have  been  for  many  a 
long  year.  I  have  often  wondered  if  good  horses  don't  go  to 
heaven,  what  will  become  of  some  men. 

TREE    PLANTING. 

But  now  new  troubles  awaited  me.  It  was  an  admitted 
truth  that  timber  was  a  necessity.  But  to  my  mind  it  was 
more,  it  was  a  luxury,  and  a  luxury  which  I  was  unwilling  to 
do  without.  So,  having  a  colt  to  dispose  of,  I  sold  him  to 
Overman  &  Mann,  of  Normal,  for  trees.  Very  little  was  said 
of  this  transaction  in  the  "  Kitchen  Cabinet,"  but  if  I 
am  a  good  reader  of  mind  in  looks,  the  conclusion  was  pretty 
generally  arrived  at,  that  the  colt  was  not  the  only  one 
that  was  "  sold."  Some  of  my  neighbors  ventured  to  sug- 
gest that  there  was,  at  Jacksonville,  an  asylum  for  lunatics. 
But  my  trees  are  my  vindicators  at  this  writing,  they 
are  from  thirty  to  fifty  feet  in  hight,  and  for  beauty  any  one 
of  my  evergreens  is  worth  a  horse. 

But  this  was  too  slow  and  expensive  a  way  to  have  trees. 
So,  in  1860  I  planted  black  walnuts  and  butternuts.  In  1861 
I  planted  the  seed  of  the  soft  maple,  and  in  1862  set  from  the 
forest  several  acres  of  hard  maples,  all  of  which  trees  are  now 
in  fine  health  and  the  admiration  of  every  one  of  good  taste  (the 
only  persons  one  should  care  to  please  in  the  way  of  landscape 
gardening  and  ornamentation).  Add  to  these,  which  a  kind 
friend  sent  me,  several  hundred  seedling  white  ash, 
now  very  beautiful,  and  for  which  I  thank  him  every  time 
I  see  the  grove  or  pass  into  its  delightful  solitude.  The 
old  adage,  that  "  Providence  helps  him  who  helps  himself," 
is  doubtless  true.  It  is  likewise  true  that  friend  loves  to  help 
friend  who  is  trying  to  help  himself.  My  groves  are  beauti- 
ful clumps  of  trees.  I'm  no  friend  to  solitary  trees.  We  all 
subscribe  to  the  good  old  doctrine,  "that  it  is  not  good  for 
man  to  be  alone,"  and  so  I  think  of  trees. 


A  VINEYARD.  57 

ORCHARDS 

are  a  necessity,  but  may  be  made  also  ornamental,  the  whole 
secret  of  success  lying  in  few  words,  "  Keep  your  trees  young." 
That  is  to  say,  remove  the  old  and  decaying  ones,  and 
plant  young  ones,  but  not  in  the  same  spot  where  the  old  ones 
stood.  The  above  remarks  are  applicable  to  apples.  Peaches 
should  never  be  transplanted.  Put  the  seed  where  you  want 
your  trees,  and  grow  them  without  removing.  They  are  tap- 
rooted,  and  no  tree  tap-rooted  can  be  removed  without  shorten- 
ing its  life. 

A  VINEYARD. 

Everybody  needs  a  vineyard,  though  some  do  not  seem  to 
want  one.  I  was  careful  to  have  one.  I  would  advise  every 
farmer  to  plant  at  least  a  hundred  grape  vines.  If  he  has 
them  not,  let  him  go  to  some  reliable  nursery  and  select  fifty 
good  thrifty  Concords.  Then  look  over  the  list  with  care  and 
take  twenty-five  more  Concords.  Then  examine  once  more 
the  catalogue  with  very  great  care,  look  wise,  and  take  the 
balance  in  Concords.  Cultivate  carefully  and  even  prayer- 
fully, but  don't  cut  them  into  shreds,  because  some  one  has  recom- 
mended pruning.  O !  if,  as  some  pious  people  think,  trees, 
plants  and  animals  are  immortal,  what  a  terrible  account  some 
of  us  will  have  to  face  on  the  last  day. 

KEEP    ONLY  THE  BEST. 

In  the  great  order  of  nature,  which  is  but  another  term 
for  the  Providence  of  God,  we  have  primarily  the  mineral  king- 
dom, secondarily  the  vegetable  kingdom,  and  lastly  the  animal 
kingdom.  Now,  since  the  animal  can  not  subsist  on  the 
mineral,  the  providential  order  is  that  the  vegetable  king- 
dom lives  mostly  on  the  mineral,  and  so  prepares  food  for 
the  animal. 

The  farmer  will,  therefore,  find  it  to  his  advantage  to 
raise  the  best,  whether  vegetables,  plants,  fruits,  or  cereals . 
and  the  best  of  domestic  animals,  and  never  keep  a  worthless 
animal  about  him,  or  propagate  an  inferior  variety  of  anything. 


58  TAZEWELL  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

He  should  be  a  firm  practitioner  of  the  law  of  the  "  survival 
of  the  fittest." 

Acting  upon  the  above  rules,  my  neat  cattle  are  Short 
Horns,  my  sheep  Cotswold,  or  Southdown  crossed  with  Cots- 
wold  ;  swine,  Berkshire ;  light  horses  for  driving,  and  Norman 
or  Clydesdale,  or,  better,  heavy  mules  for  farm  work. 

THE    BEST   FOWLS    ARE 

the  bronze  turkey,  and  light  and  dark  Brahma  chickens  if 
well  cared  for  and  protected.  But  for  chickens  which  will  take 
care  of  themselves,  I  recommend  the  Dominique.  Every  farmer 
needs  a  shepherd  dog.  All  others,  save  the  rat  terrier,  are  an 
unmitigated  nuisance  and  should  be  abated. 

DEAINAGE. 

On  almost  every  quarter  section  in  Central  Illinois  will  be 
found  some  slight  depressions  and  ravines,  called  sloughs, 
which  need  draining.  First  I  tried  open  ditches,  then  mole 
ditches,  neither  of  which  were  satisfactory.  Now  I  have  put 
tile  through  all  the  low  places  on  the  farm,  and,  for  a  year 
and  a  half,  they  have  given  satisfaction.  I'm  sure  that  we 
shall  not  find  them  subject  to  being  filled  with  sediment  and 
rootlets  of  hedges  and  contiguous  trees.  I  have  been  careful 
to  retain  the  water  of  these  ditches  on  my  own  farm  by  leaving  an 
open  ditch,  or  sinking  a  well  at  their  outlet.  I  commend  this 
precaution  to  every  farmer  tiling  his  land. 

The  good,  not  to  say  model  farmer,  will  see  to  it  that  his 
household  is  supplied  with  small  fruits.  Indeed,  of  all  kinds 
of  fruit  which  may  be  grown  in  the  country,  I  know  of 
nothing  which  adds  so  much  to  the  health,  comfort,  and  plea- 
sure of  the  household  as  small  fruit.  Half  an  acre,  well  cared  for, 
will  supply  the  family  with  all  that  is  needed.  Even  a 
shrew  of  a  wife  will  smile  under  its  modifying  influence. 
The  children  are  not  only  cheerful,  but  joyous  for  having 
it,  and  it  cheats  the  M.  Ds.  out  of  many  a  bill.  Few  families 
are  unhealthy  who  use  abundance  of  fruit.  Fruit  patches 
may  be  so  arranged  as  actually  to  add  to  the  beauty  of  the 
landscape. 


FARM  BUILDINGS.  59 

So,  also,  may  the  orchards.  Our  mistake  is,  we  make 
everything  look  so  prim  and  artificial,  when  in  truth  we 
ought  to  arrange  our  groves,  fruit-plats,  and  orchards,  so  nat- 
urally that  dame  Nature  will  not  blush  to  call  them  all  her  own. 

FAKM  BUILDINGS. 

I  once  asked  a  very  wealthy  and  distinguished  farmer  to 
point  out  his  house.  "  Yonder,  sir,  is  my  barn,"  said  he, 
pointing  to  a  large  and  apparently  commodious  structure.  "  It 
matters  not  about  the  house,  the  barn  shows  the  status  of  the 
farmer."  Without  proposing  to  dispute  my  friend,  I  must 
nevertheless  say  that  the  family  deserves  the  first  and  best 
attention  ;  and  no  improvement  gives  so  much  material  value 
to  a  farm,  as  a  good,  convenient  and  comfortable  home.  Barns 
are  useful  rather  than  ornamental ;  sheds  and  outbuildings  of 
every  description  should  follow  the  same  rule.  The  house  on 
my  farm  is  a  two  story  structure,  30x36,  three  rooms  and  hall 
in  each  story,  with  cellar  under  all.  A  wing  20x20  for  dining- 
room  with  sleeping  room  above.  A  kitchen  attached  to  this 
20x12  for  cook  room,  with  bath  rooms  attached.  A  porch  in 
front  of  both  main  building  and  dining-room,  and  a  bay  win- 
dow for  winter  plants  complete  our  domestic  arrangements. 
Near  by,  not  contiguous,  is  the  ice-house,  shop  and  wood  and 
coal  shed.  Nor  do  I  think  this  too  expensive  a  house, 
or  arrangement  for  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres. 

BARNS    AND     CRIBS. 

The  horse  barn  with  three  bins  for  oats,  or  corn,  stalls 
for  eight  horses  and  hay  loft,  two  hay  barns,  one  closed  and  one 
with  open  sides,  one  corn  crib,  one  shed  for  sheep  and  one  for 
pigs  and  another  for  bees,  are  the  buildings  on  the  farm.  More 
might  be  added,  perhaps,  to  advantage,  and  a  less  number 
would  do. 

AVOID   EXCLUSIVENESS. 

One  of  the  prominent  evils  of  Illinois  farming  is  the  ten- 
dency to  run  into  exclusiveness.  It  is  a  coarse  but  common 
saying,  with  a  large  admixture  of  truth  "•  that  we  run  every 


60  TAZEWELL  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

thing  into  the  ground."  Just  now  the  rage  is  for  wheat  in  the 
cereals,  and  sheep  in  stock. 

Both  have  "  paid"  for  the  last  few  years,  and  if  not  made 
exclusive  will  still  pay. 

GRAIN. 

Corn  (maize)  is  the  chief  crop  in  this  the  central 
part  of  the  State.  For  a  rotation  of  crops  we  use  oats,  rye,  clover 
and  timothy,  all  to  be  fed  to  cattle,  sheep  and  swine.  I  ha've 
satisfied  myself  that  we  can  make  it  profitable  to  use  the  hoe 
in  cutting  out  weeds  and  grass  even  after  we  have  laid  our 
corn  by.  Fall  plowing  pays  well,  and  the  more  manure  we 
scatter  on  the  surface  of  our  fields  the  better  for  the  coming 
crop.  It  is  not  only  bad  economy,  but  absolute  wastefulness 
to  neglect  or  ignore  the  manure  piles. 

MANAGEMENT  OF   STOCK. 

Short  Horns  for  Central  Illinois  are  doubtless  the  best.  For 
breeding  they  must  not  be  too  fat.  Our  State  and  County  fairs 
should  offer  premiums  for  cattle  direct  from  pasture  only. 
The  cattle  that  are  taken  to  our  fairs  are  generally  worthless 
for  breeding  purposes. 

SHEEP 

are  among  the  best  and  most  profitable  stock  that  can  be  kept 
on  the  farm.  My  choice  is  the  Cotswold  for  flocks  of  from 
fifty  to  a  hundred.  For  massing  in  large  flocks  the  Merino  is 
better. 

HOGS. 

For  early  maturity,  to  which  we  are  fast  coming,  I  find 
the  Berkshire  best.  I  care  very  little  for  "  buildings"  for  pigs 
or  hogs,  but  shelter  in  stormy  weather  is,  of  course,  desirable. 
May  pigs,  with  change  of  pasture  and  corn  soaked  twelve  hours, 
will  insure  fine  shoats  for  market  in  November,  free  from 
disease. 

HORSES. 

We  shall  never  have  a  perfect  farm  horse  until  we  com- 
bine weight,  muscle  and  vigor  in  the  same  animal.  Perhaps 
the  Perch eron-Norman  approaches  this  combination  as  nearly  as 
any  other.  Some  prefer  the  Clydesdale,  others  still  the  Ca- 


BEES— DAIRYING.  61 

nadian.  But  for  real  hard  service  on  the  farm  I  use  neither, 
greatly  preferring  large  active  mules.  For  driving  I  find  none 
equal  to  the  Morgan.  As  a  rule,  large  horses  are  poor 
roadsters. 

BEES. 

Every  farmer  will  do  well  to  keep  bees.  I  have  found 
them  always  profitable,  but  think  it  will  not  do  to  keep  too 
many  of  them  in  close  proximity. 

FRUIT. 

I  have  already  said  all  I  need  say  on  this  subject,  but 
will  add  that  I  find  no  apple  so  profitable  as  the  Ben  Davis. 
With  all  my  prejudice  against  it,  it  has  overcome  my  scruples. 

DAIRYING 

will  soon  be  introduced,  more  or  less,  in  all  farming  operations. 
But  I  do  nothing  save  for  family  use.  I  find  the  best  cows 
for  producing  milk  to  be  the  common  stock  of  the  country, 
improved  by  judicious  selections  generally  best  made  by  thfe 
housewives  of  the  country.  This  part  of  husbandry  deserves 
more  attention  than  it  is  receiving  from  the  Illinois  farmer,  as 

a  rule. 

LAND. 

The  eastern  portion  of  Tazewell  County  is  high,  rolling 
prairie,  intersected  by  streams  of  water  and  skirted  with  belts 
of  timber.  The  western  portion,  bordering  the  grand  naviga- 
ble Illinois  River,  is  a  sandy  loam,  well  underlaid  with  coal. 
Timber  and  springs  abound.  Farms  throughout  the  county 
are  valued  at  from  twenty  to  one  hundred  dollars  per  acre. 

CONCLUSION. 

My  best  paying  fruits  are  apples,  grapes  and  strawberries. 
Little  account  is  taken  of  any  of  them  save  the  apple.  Still, 
these  smaller  fruits  enter  so  largely  into  the  necessaries  and 
luxuries  of  the  dining  room,  that  they  should  not  be  ignored. 
Corn  is,  however,  the  crop  of  Central  Illinois.  Certainly  the 
most  important  cereal.  Wheat,  in  certain  localities,  and  on 
clay  soils,  which  lie  chiefly  along  the  belts  of  timber,  is 
always  to  be  encouraged. 


62  TAZEWELL  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

Sheep,  "  the  animal  with  the  golden  foot,"  as  the  Span- 
iards call  it,  is  the  most  profitable  creature  on  the  farm.  It  will 
live  on  shorter  feed  than  any  other  animal,  and  yields  a  rich 
return.  This  habit,  however,  of  short  feed  for  sheep  is  to  be 
greatly  condemned.  It  is  wasteful,  cruel  and  cowardly.  A 
sheep  seldom  dies  insolvent.  It  enriches  the  fields  upon 
which  it  feeds,  and  gives,  besides  its  fleece,  the  richest, 
healthiest  and  most  nutritious  meat  for  the  table. 

A  year  ago,  I  had  a  flock  of  101  sheep  which  I  held  at 
$300.  From  this  flock  I  sold,  in  rams,  old  sheep  and  wool, 
to  the  amount  of  $244.  My  flock  was  then  as  numerous  as,  and 
more  valuable  than,  when  the  inventory  was  first  taken.  After- 
wards I  sold,  in.  old,  unprofitable  ewes,  fattened,  $64, 
one  buck  lamb  $5,  and  one  choice  Cotswold  buck  $15,  mak- 
ing an  aggregate  of  $328  ;  and  still  my  capital  is  not  impaired, 
for  my  flock  is  yet  worth  $300.  Can  any  other  animals  show 
so  good  results  ?  I  think  not. 

I  must  add  that  sheep  are  a  precarious  property.  They 
have  so  many  enemies  that  a  constant  watch  is  necessary. 
The  legislature  ought  to  place  a  liberal  bounty  on  wolf  scalps, 
and  put  a  heavy  tax  on  dogs,  both  of  which  animals  the  flock 
master  hates  with  a  perfect  hatred,— especially  the  dogs. 


SYSTEM  IN  FARMING.  63 

GEORGE  P.  WEBER, 

PAWNEE,   SANGAMON     COUNTY. 

Methods  of  Mixed  Husbandry — Reasons  for  Naming  a  Farm — 
System — Holstein  Cattle — Cotswold  Sheep — Berkshire  Swine 
— Horses — Firm  Believer  in  Rotation  of  Crops — I  Never 
G-row  More  than  Three  Crops  of  Corn  on  the  Same  Ground 
in  Succession — I  Trim  Hedge  Twice  a  Year. 

HEADER  FARM 

proper  comprises  about  420  acres,  parts  of  Sections  9  and  10, 
of  Town  13,  situated  in  the  southern  part  of  Sangamon 
County,  Illinois.  There  are,  however,  as  many  more  acres 
in  several  tracts,  belonging  to  and  operated  in  connection  there- 
with. This  farm  is,  excepting  a  forty-acre  timber  lot,  undulat- 
ing prairie,  with  good  natural  advantages  for  draining.  The 
soil  is  a  rich,  black  loam,  and  produces  abundant  crops  of 
every  thing  adapted  to  Central  Illinois. 

NAME. 

I  regard  a  farm  name  somewhat  in  the  same  light  that  I 
do  the  trade-mark  of  a  manufacturer.  It  excites  a  pride  in 
every  thing  connected  with  the  place.  It  is  an  incentive  to 
establish  and  maintain  an  honorable  reputation,  and  often,  as 
in  this  case,  tends  to  perpetuate  the  work  of  the  respected 
dead. 

MY  PRIDE. 

Hap-hazard  farming  will  never  succeed.  Changes  must 
be  made  to  suit  the  circumstances  or  surroundings.  But  plans 
must  be  made  and  executed  as  in  every  other  profession.  The 
pride  of  this  farm  is  a  herd  of  Holstein  cattle,  a  flock  of  Cots- 
wold  sheep,  and  a  herd  of  Berkshire  swine,  with  the  necessary 
horses  to  perform  the  work. 

CATTLE. 

I  aim  to  keep  about  seventy-five  head,  and  as  the  number 
of  pure-bloods  increases,  the  grades  are  sold  off.  I  have  about 


64  SANUAMON  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

twenty-five  cows.  Give  the  calves  most  of  the  milk  in  Sum- 
mer, and  make  butter  in  Winter,  which  sells  in  Springfield  at 
from  twenty-five  to  thirty  cents  per  pound.  Cows  are  pastured 
as  much  of  the  time  as  possible.  In  Winter  are  kept  in  barn 
cellar  by  night,  fed  morning  and  evening,  and  turned  out  by 
day.  Females  that  prove  good  at  the  pail  are  sold  for  milch 
cows ;  others  for  beef.  The  males  not  used  for  breeding  pur- 
poses, are  castrated,  and  sold  generally  off  grass,  in  July,  at  two 
years  old.  Sometimes  are  fed  on  grass.  Usually  weigh  from 
1,200  to  1,400  pounds.  Calves,  both  sexes,  are  stanchioned 
first  Winter,  and  fed  hay  and  one  gallon  crushed  corn  each  per 
day.  Yearling  males,  as  well  as  twos,  are  fed  outside,  with 
hay,  when  cheap,  or  corn  fodder  and  straw,  together  with 
some  cut  or  crushed  corn. 

HORSES. 

As  young  horses  are  broken,  the  old  are  sold  off.  I  raise  only 
enough  to  do  the  farm  work,  breeding  for  medium  size,  good 
wind  and  action,  such  as  are  properly  classed  as  horses  for  all 
work.  The  only  pure  blooded  breed  with  which  I  am  acquaint- 
ed is  the  Cleveland  Bay. 

SHEEP. 

I  am  breeding  Cotswolds.  But  few,  as  yet,  recorded. 
Have  about  100  head  breeding.  For  several  years  have  sold 
all  the  rams  for  breeding  purposes  at  $10  per  head.  Tail 
out  the  ewes  every  Fall  and  sell  to  breeder  or  butcher, 
whichever  will  pay  the  highest  prices.  Sheep  run  on  pasture  all 
the  time.  Feed  nearly  one  bushel  corn  per  head,  during 
Winter  and  lambing  season,  or  its  equivalent  in  oats.  Feed 
hay,  if  grass  is  very  short,  and  when  ground  is  covered  with 
sleet.  Never  shelter,  except  in  cold,  rainy,  or  sleety  weather, 
and  during  lambing,  at  which  time  every  care  must  be  taken ; 
and  it  will  then  pay  to  keep  a  man  with  the  ewes  night  and  day. 

HOW   I  MANAGE  MY   SWINE. 

I  keep  from  fifteen  to  twenty  breeding  sows  ;  two  families, 
each  headed  by  a  good  male.  Breeding  stock  all  recorded  in 


GRAIN— POULTRY.  65 

American  Berkshire  Record.  A  pedigree  does  not  hurt 
any  animal,  and  without  it  no  breeder  can  tell  what  he 
is  doing.  Sell  all  I  can  to  breeders ;  the  remainder  for 
meat,  generally  in  June.  Have  quit  doctoring.  Let  my 
hogs  have  as  much  range  as  possible.  Keep  them  out  of 
the  sheds,  except  in  bad  weather.  Bed  fresh  once  a 
week.  Burn  old  bedding,  cobs,  etc.,  and  let  pigs  have  access 
to  ashes.  Change  feeding  place  every  few  days,  if  not 
more  than  fifty  yards.  Give  but  little  corn  when  grass  is  fresh 
and  good.  Know  that  an  exclusive  corn  diet  is  injurious. 
They  will  die  sometimes,  the  best  we  can  do.  Separate  the 
small  from  the  larger,  and  give  them  all  slops  from  milk  house 
and  kitchen.  Use  air-slacked  lime,  or  wood  ashes  with  salt, 
for  worms. 

GRAIN   AND    ROTATION   OF    CROPS. 

Most  of  our  grain  is  grown  by  "renters."  I  receive  one-third 
of  all  kinds  grown,  corn  husked  and  in  crib,  and  small  grain 
in  half  bushels  at  threshing  machine.  This  to  avoid  workmen 
in  the  house  for  our  women  to  take  care  of. 

I  am  a  firm  believer  in  rotation  of  crops.  A  little  corn, 
a  little  pasture,  a  little  meadow,  a  little  wheat,  a  little  oats,  a 
little  rye,  a  few  of  the  different  kinds  of  farm  animals,  and 
always  something  to  do,  but  never  crowded.  Our  soil  is  inex- 
haustible, and  something  is  sure  to  hit.  One  of  our  most  suc- 
cessful farmers,  when  I  asked  him  for  his  key  to  success,  said, 
"  Do  not  be  afraid  to  throw  out  a  few  dollars  in  the  shape  of 
grass  seed,  and  never  grow  more  than  three  corn  crops  on  the 
same  ground  in  succession."  He  knew  just  what  he  was  talk- 
ing about,  as  I  have  learned  from  actual  trial. 

POULTRY. 

My  wife  has  charge  of  this  matter,  and  has  succeeded  well 
with  light  Brahmas.  She  is  now  trying  Plymouth  Rock.  Has 
a  few  turkeys,  ducks,  etc.,  etc.,  the  true  value  of  which  we 
have  not  the  slightest  conception  of.  We  know,  however, 
that  they  are  very  greatly  under-estimated. 
5 


60  GREENE   COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

Of  bees,  fruit,  and  vegetables,  we  raise  only  enough  for 
home  use  and  some  to  give  away. 

FENCES   AND   FIELDS. 

Fences  are  of  rail,  board,  and  hedge.  The  latter  I  prefer, 
trimming  twice  a  year.  Believe  it  is  better  for  fencing,  and 
know  it  is  much  cheaper.  Fields  are  from  forty  to  eighty  acres 
in  size.  The  whole  field  must  be  planted  to  one  thing,  so  that 
after  it  is  harvested  the  stock  can  be  turned  in  to  glean. 

Ornamental  trees  and  flowers  are  neglected  for  an  im- 
aginary want  of  time,  but  I  do  not  think  a  farm  decent  with- 
out them,  much  less  a  model. 


E.  A.  GILLER, 

WHITEHALL,  GREENE  COUNTY. 

Plowing  "Haw"  Made  a  Pond  of  It — Plowing  "  Cree"  and 
Tile  Draining  Have  made  it  one  of  the  Most  Profitable 
Farms  in  the  State. — How  to  Tile  a  Farm. 

The  farm  I  own  and  am  living  on,  ir,  situated  in  Greene 
County,  Illinois,  and  consists  of  five  hundred  acres,  three  hun- 
dred prairie  and  two  hundred  originally  timber,  one  hundred  and 
forty  of  the  timber  being  now  cleared  and  in  cultivation.  The 
prairie  and  timber  joining  the  prairie  land  is  level,  the  timber 
land  more  rolling.  The  prairie  is  a  black,  rich  loam,  the  soil  be- 
ing from  one  to  three  feet  in  depth,  with  an  excellent,  porous 
sub-soil.  Thirty  years  ago,  when  I  first  bought  the  farm,  it  was 
considered  too  fiat  and  wet  to  be  very  productive,  and  had 
been  rented  out  for  years.  The  cockleburs  and  Jamestown 
weeds  had  taken  possession  of  the  plow  land.  The  sumachs, 
briars  and  thistles,  for  two  or  three  rods,  had  captured  the 
fence  corners,  and  the  horse  weeds,  alders  and  other  noxious 
weeds,  nearly  half  the  meadow  land.  In  one  part  of  the 
farm,  near  two  acres  in  one  patch  had  been  given  up  entirely, 
and  cottonwoods  eight  inches  in  diameter  were  actually  grow- 


PERFECT  DRAINAGE.  67 

ing  among  the  timothy.  A  good  farmer  had  contemplated  buying 
the  farm  for  one  of  his  sons,  who  declared  that  he  "  would  not 
have  it,''  and  "  would  like  to  see  the  man  that  could  make  a  liv- 
ing upon  it."  Such  was  its  reputation  then  ,  to-day  it  is  con- 
sidered 

ONE  OF  THE  BEST  AND    MOST   PRODUCTIVE  FARMS 

in  Greene  County.  A  few  years  ago,  examining  the  assessor's 
books  I  found  only  one  farm  in  the  county  assessed  as  high,  acre 
for  acre,  as  my  own.  Now  the  question  is,  what  produced  the 
change  ?  When  I  got  possession  of  the  farm  I  found  that  those 
who  had  cultivated  (at*)  the  land  had  invariably  plowed  "  haw1'' 
— thus  making  a  pond  of  each  field.  The  roads  had  not  been 
worked,  and  in  the  Spring  of  the  year  were  almost  im- 
passable In  a  wet  time  the  surplus  water  from  adjoining  farms 
poured  on  to  the  land  and  sometimes  drowned  out  the  grow- 
ing crops.  I  have  frequently  known  the  fences  to  be  taken 
down  in  order  that  teams  could  pass  through  the  pastures. 
You  will  think  this  a  gloomy  picture,  but  it  is  a  correct  one. 
The  winter  wheat  crop  was  considered  so  uncertain  that  few 
ventured  to  sow  more  than  a  few  acres,  to  bread  and  furnish 
themselves  with  seed.  I  immediately  commenced  plowing 
"  gee^  threw  up  the  roads  as  fast  as  possible,  so  as  to  get 
an  outlet  for  the  water,  began  a  thorough  system  of 
surface  drainage,  then  seeded  the  land  down  to  grass  as  soon 
as  possible.  I  never  had  much  faith  in  the  old  mole  ditch,  and 
as  soon  as  tile  began  to  be  manufactured  in  the  locality  I  com- 
menced using  it,  so  that  to-day  there  is 

A   PERFECT   NET- WORK   OF  TILE 

laid  all  over  the  farm.  I  was  bothered  at  first  to  get  out- 
lets, but  finally  persuaded  my  neighbors  to  drain  their  land 
and  thus  furnish  me  outlets.  The  result  is  that  their  land  is 
just  as  good  and  productive  as  mine.  Where  I  could  not  get 
an  outlet,  I  dug  a  few  wells  about  six  feet  deep,  walled 
them  up  to  about  three  feet  from  the  surface,  and  let  the  tile 
into  them,  and  it  answers  an  excellent  purpose.  I  dug  them  large 


68  GREENE   COUNTY,   ILLINOIS. 

enough  so  that  they  can  easily  be  cleaned  out.  Now  for  the 
results :  I  never  fail  to  raise 

A  GOOD  CROP  OF  CORN,  WET  OR  DRY. 

Two  years  ago  I  spent  between  three  and  four  hundred  dol- 
lars draining  one  eighty,  that  had  been  in  grass  a  long  time. 
It  was  very  level,  and  in  a  wet  time  would  almost  mire  a  snipe. 
The  main  drain  was  800  rods  in  length  and  in  some  places  five 
feet  deep,  in  no  place  less  than  three  feet.  It  ran  angling 
across  the  eighty,  commencing  at  the  south-east  corner  and 
crossing  the  highway  near  the  north-west  corner,  thence  running 
through  my  neighbor's  cellar,  which,  in  wet  seasons  usually  had 
two  or  three  feet  of  water  in  it  until  near  mid-Summer.  Of 
course  it  was  good-bye  to  water,  and  it  was  then  possible  to  dig 
the  cellar  a  foot  deeper.  The  tile  in  the  main  drain  were  mostly 
six  inches  in  diameter.  The  Summer  being  an  unusually  wet 
one,  neither  my  neighbor,  Mr.  L.  P.  Griswold,  who  is  one  of 
the  best  practical  farmers  in  the  county  (his  farm  being  thor- 
oughly tile  drained),  nor  myself,  if  our  lands  had  not  been 
so  drained,  could  have  raised  over  thirty  bushels  of  corn 
to  the  acre,  if  as  much.  As  it  was,  I  got  over  sixty 
bushels  to  the  acre,  and  in  place  of  the  land  being  covered 
with  foul,  noxious  weeds,  it  was  perfectly  clean.  Figure  the 
result.  Eighty  acres,  sixty  bushels  per  acre,  4,800  bushels ; 
at  thirty  cents,  which  I  could  have  got  for  it  at  the  crib,  $1,440. 
Take  half  from  that,  and  it  leaves  $720  the  first  year,  or  a 
profit  of  over  $300,  and  the  draining  done  for  all  time.  Last 
Spring  I  spent  as  much  more  on  the  field,  having  found  out  the 
previous  Summer  just  where  it  was  needed.  This  has  been  one 
of  the  dryest  years  we  have  ever  known,  not  more  than  enough 
rain  having  fallen  after  April  to  lay  the  dust  until  the  last 
of  October,  nevertheless  we  are  husking 

A  GOOD   PLUMP  SIXTY  BUSHELS  PER  ACRE 

off  the  same  field.  Wet  or  dry,  it  makes  no  difference  ;  if  the  land 
is  thoroughly  drained  and  well  tilled,  we  are  sure  to  have  a  crop. 
Last  Spring  there  was  no  water  in  the  ground,  so  I  got  a  large 
tank  and  hose  and  hauled  the  water  to  grade  my  tile  ditch 


THREE   INCH  TILE.  69 

with,  and  I  think  that  I  got  a  better  and  more  regular  grade 
than  though  the  ground  had  been  full  of  water.  I  thoroughly 
drained  another  eighty  in  the  same  manner.  Some  of  it  was 
very  difficult  to  drain.  Had  to  go  six  feet  in  some  places  in 
order  to  get  2J  feet  in  others, — but  we  made  it.  My  farm  is 
no  model  farm,  but  it  pays  on  the  investment.  In  other  words 
it  is  a  money  making  institution,  and  that  in  this  fast  age  is  the 
great  desideratum. 

THE  BEST  WAY  TO  TILE  A  FARM. 

I  will  suppose  a  case,  and  then  describe  my  mode  of  pro- 
cedure. We  will  take,  for  instance,  an  eighty  acre  lot. 
The  first  thing  I  do  after  deciding  where  to  run  the  drains,  is  to 
prepare  a  main  outlet.  If  there  is  a  natural  one,  such  as 
a  ravine,  or  a  very  low  place,  so  much  the  better ;  if  not, 
I  immediately  dig  a  well  about  five  feet  across  and  say  six 
feet  deep,  and  into  that  let  one  of  the  tile  project  a  few 
inches.  After  being  walled  up  with  brick  or  rock,  it  is  at  any 
time  easily  cleaned  out.  I  then,  after  digging  the  ditch,  lay 
in  as  large  sized  tile  as  I  think  necessary  to  carry  the  water  off 
rapidly,  generally  six  inches  at  the  outlet,  tapering  off  towards 
the  head  with  fives,  fours,  and  threes. 

1    NEVER   USE  LESS    THAN    THREE   INCH 

tile,  and  when  necessary,  I  run  an  affluent,  or  prong,  for 
threes  or  fours,  in  any  direction  needed,  by  putting  in  a  Y,  or 
tile  made  for  the  purpose.  I  never,  under  any  circumstances, 
allow  any  tile  to  be  laid  in  any  of  my  level  fields,  unless  first 
tested  with  water,  and  am  very  careful  to  have  it  ripple  in 
every  part  of  the  drain.  Should  the  ground  be  very  dry,  as  it 
was  last  Spring,  when  we  put  in  several  hundred  not  to  say 
thousand  rods,  we  have  a  large  thresher's  tank  and  rub- 
ber hose,  out  of  which  we  make  a  syphon,  and  thus  let  the 
water  into  the  ditch,  moving  along  two  or  three  rods  at  a  time, 
as  may  be  necessary.  Now  remember,  as  we  go  up  the  grade, 

THE   DITCH   IS   DUG   AS   NARROW  AS   POSSIBLE, 

generally  two  spades  wide  at  the  top,  and  a  little  narrower  at 
the  bottom.  The  spade  used  is  a  narrow  steel  spade,  about  a 


70  GREENE   COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

foot  long  in  the  blade,  on  which  we  get  the  blacksmith  to  weld 
a  stirrup,  or  spur,  at  the  side,  that  will  suit  the  foot.  This  is 
sent  in  the  full  depth  every  time,  and  the  loose  dirt  is  thrown 
out  \7ith  a  long-handled  shovel.  We  are  very  careful  not  to 
get  too  deep  before  testing  the  drain  with  water.  We  now 
take  a  long-handled  shovel,  which  is  best  for  the  purpose,  and 
of  which  we  have  different  sizes  to  suit  the  different  tile,  and 
cut  a  narrow  channel  in  the  bottom  of  the  ditch,  in  which  the 
tile  will  lie  snugly,  then  put  a  spadeful  of  earth  in  the  ditch 
above  the  tank,  and  let  the  water  in.  It  takes  two  to  do  this 
part  of  the  work  to  advantage,  one  in  the  ditch  to  mark  where 
there  is  any  dead  water,  and  grade  below  the  same  until  it  rip- 
ples along  nicety.  Then  when  jrou  have  graded  as  far  as  the 
water  will  move  freely,  drive  on  and  repeat  the  operation.  I 

ALWAYS  USE  ROUND   TILE, 

which  are  strung  along  the  edge  of  the  ditch  as  soon  as  it  is 
graded,  so  that  they  are  easily  reached  by  the  man  who  is  lay- 
ing them.  They  are  placed  in  their  bed  as  snugly  as  possible, 
the  person  laying  them  turning  the  same  until  they  fit  as  close 
as  possible.  There  is  no  danger  of  getting  them  too  close. 
Occasionally  the  man  kicks  them  with  his  foot  so  as  to  make 
them  lie  firmly,  and  it  is  quite  a  task  to  take  a  tile  out  when 
properly  laid.  He  then  walks  on  top  of  them  to  see  that  they 
are  even  and  solid,  and  should  there  be  any  holes,  cracks,  or 
detective  places,  he  takes  a  piece  of  broken  tile  of  the  next 
larger  size  and  places  over  it.  The  tile  laid,  he  commences  at 
one  end  with  the  narrow  spade  and  throws  down  the  dirt  from 
the  side,  thus  covering  the  tile  sufficiently  so  that  there  is  no 
danger  of  its  moving,  walking  on  the  same  until  all  is  covered. 
This  is  done  very  rapidly. 

HOW   TO   COVER  TILE. 

A  strong  pole,  about  twelve  feet  long,  is  then  fixed  with  a 
clevis  at  one  end,  to  which  is  hitched  one  horse,  and  a  plow 
clevis  is  arranged  so  that  it  can  be  moved  along  the  pole  in 
different  notches,  to  which  is  attached  a  good  three- horse  plow. 


A  REVOLUTION  IN  FARMING.  71 

Another  clevis  is  attached  to  the  other  end  of  the  pole,  to 
which  are  hitched  two  horses.  Then,  with  one  man  to  drive 
the  team,  and  one  to  hold  the  plow,  it  is  a  very  little  trouble 
to  fill  in  hundreds  of  rods  in  a  very  short  time. 

TILE  WELLS  FOR   STOCK. 

Last  Spring  we  arranged  two  drinking  places  for  our  stock, 
as  follows:  After  choosing  the  location,  we  built  a  stone  wall 
over  the  tile  up  to  the  level  of  the  ground,  then  graded  down 
to  the  tile  for  a  distance  of  two  rods,  and  made  a  rock  trough, 
about  a  foot  wide,  by  placing  flat  rock  at  the  bottom  and  put- 
ting in  long  rock  at  the  edges,  then  paving  back  up  to  the 
level  ground  with  good  sized  rock.  We  put  iron  bars  across 
the  tile  below,  to  keep  out  the  trash.  It  makes  an  excellent 
drinking  place  for  the  stock,  and  the  water  is  always  clear  and 
pure.  Tile  drains  and  wind  mills  have  made  such 

A   REVOLUTION  IN  FARMING 

in  this  part  of  the  country,  that  people  wonder  how  in  the 
world  they  ever  got  along  without  them.  One  of  my  neigh- 
bors is  going  to  put  15,000  tile  in  one  field  next  Spring  ;  five 
of  six-inch,  five  of  five-inch,  and  five  of  three-inch.  On  an 
adjoining  farm,  of  which  I  had  charge  last  year,  we  expended 
a  little  over  $300  in  tile  draining.  Previously  no  one  would 
undertake  to  plow  the  same. 

WE  THEN  RENTED    THE  LAND    FOR  TWO-FIFTHS 

of  the  crop,  and  now  they  are  gathering  nearly  seventy  bushels 
of  corn  to  the  acre,  and  I  am  besieged  all  the  time  with  appli- 
cants to  rent  the  land  next  year  on  the  halves,  they  finding 
every  thing  and  delivering  the  corn  in  the  crib.  This  land  had 
evidently  been  the  bed  of  a  lake  at  one  time,  and  is  a  rich,  black 
loam,  and  very  flat.  A  little  more  tile  will  make  it  the  best 
land  in  the  vicinity.  It  belongs  to  the  Totts  estate,  and  this 
one  crop  has  increased  its  value  one-third. 

IN  CONCLUSION 

no  farmer  who  owns  flat  land,  susceptible  of  tile  draining,  can 
afford  to  neglect  it  any  longer.  Money  invested  in  tiling  is  far 


72  MA  CON   COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

better  than  ten  per  cent.,  but  be  sure  to  have  good  tile.  I 
think  that  there  are  no  better  made  in  the  State  than  those 
made  here. 

I  think  a  visit  to  my  farm  by  any  one  who  has  not  yet 
done  any  tiling  will  so  thoroughly  convince  him  of  its  great 
benefits  that  he  will  go  home  and  do  as  I  have  done  in  this 
particular. 


H.  W.  DAVIS, 

DECATUK,  MACON  COUNTY. 

Mixed  Husbandry — Tiling  is  Working  Out  the  Road  Problem- — 
Feed  on  the  Farm  all  the  Grass  Grrown — No  Cure  for  Hog 
Cholera,  But  a  Big  Preventive. 

Connected  with  the  region  of  the  Grand  Prairie,  where 
the  ever  flowing  Sangamon  River,  with  its  many  creeks  and 
rivulets,  contributes  to  water  and  drain  and  timber  the  soil,  this 
great  expanse  of  grass  and  corn-growing  country,  has  appeared 
to  me  to  be  about  the  center  of  the  Universe,  neither  too  far 
North  nor  too  far  South.  It  has  been  complained  of  as  being 
too  muddy  at  times,  and  again  too  dry ;  too  cold,  and  too  hot ; 
in  short,  too  changeable.  But  these  charges  are  made  mostly  by 
old  chronic  grumblers,  who  are  never  satisfied  with  any  thing 
or  any  body.  Our  lands  are  about  one-quarter  timber  and  three- 
quarters  prairie,  mostly  dry  enough,  slightly  rolling.  Some  of 
the  prairie  contains  small  ponds  or  basins  that  hold  water  a 
part  of  the  year,  but  ditching  and  tiling  will  soon  cure  the 
worst  cases. 

THE  SOIL  OF  THE  PRAIRIE  IS  ALL  GOOD, 

and  there  is  hardly  an  acre  to  be  found  in  a  day's  ride 
but  can  easily  be  made  to  produce  abundant  crops.  No  waste 
land  whatever.  True,  our  rich  loanw  soil,  when  water-soaked, 
mixes  up  into  mud,  and  at  times  we  have  bad  roads  ;  but  tiling 
is  working  out  the  road  problem,  as  well  as  the  drying  of  fields. 


PLAN  OF  FAKM  AND  BUILDINGS. 


73 


%/mmm 

§|§&;  5i'*&MnCu4 

• 


EXPLANATIONS. 
House. 
Barn. 
Garden. 
Lawn. 

Fruit  Trees  and  Evergreens. 
Long  Shed. 
Small  Barn  Lot. 
Evergreen  Grove. 
Large  Barn  Lot. 
Evergreens,  Maples,  Chestnut 
Elm  and  many  other  Trees. 
Evergreens   and  Fruit  Trees 

Hog  Lots. 
Evergreens      "         "          " 

13.  Orchard. 

14.  Wood  Lands. 

15, 15.  Grass  etc.,  Cultivation. 

16.  Spring  Ravines. 

Large  Ravine. 

Gate  Ways. 

Wood  House. 

Poultry  House. 

Pig  Pens. 


74  MACON  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

When  farmers  have  money  to  spend  in  improvements,  it  will 
mostly  be  used  for  tile  draining.  The  present  season  corn  has 
yielded  100  bushels  per  acre  in  some  fields.  Forty  bushels  of 
wheat  (winter)  have  been  raised  by  several  of  our  careful 
farmers.  Good  farms  are  worth  from  $25  to  $40  per  acre.  We 
raise  the  best  stock.  Of  horses,  the  Norman  and  Hambletonian. 
Of  cattle,  the  Short  Horn,  the  Devon  and  Alderney.  Of  hogs, 
the  Berkshire,  Chester  White  and  Poland.  Of  sheep,  the  Merino, 
Cotswold  and  Southdown.  Mules  are  bred  largely.  Of  fruits, 
the  apple  is  grown  with  good  success.  Hardy  grapes  grow  in 
abundance,  while  pears,  peaches  and  quinces  fail  sometimes, 
but  are  frequently  plentiful.  In  fact,  our  soil  will  grow  any 
thing  that  can  stand  our  Winters,  which  frequently  reach  15° 
to  20°  below  zero. 

MY   FARM 

is  an  old  one  for  this  county.  Situated  six  miles  east  of  Deca- 
tur,  in  Macon  County.  It  consists  of  120  acres,  and  was 
settled  about  fifty  years  ago.  It  is  the  old  homestead,  and  on 
it  I  was  born.  Several  tracts  of  land  have  been  farmed  in  con- 
nection with  the  old  place,  but  the  original  120  has  been  the 
stand-by.  Like  the  faithful  old  horse,  it  is  not  to  be  traded  or 
sold.  The  natural  advantages  are  and  have  been  of  the  best. 
The  soil,  a  deep  black  loam,  is  quite  fertile.  Originally  about 
one-third  timber,  it  is  all  now  tillable,  except  about  twenty 
acres,  through  which  a  considerable  ravine  passes.  Here, 
on  either  side  of  its  undulating  banks,  which  are  mostly  set 
with  blue  grass,  many  of  the  mighty  monarchs  of  the  forest 
are  still  standing,  under  whose  shading  and  sheltering  branches 
the  stock  find  water,  food  and  repose. 

The  farm  is  L  shaped,  with  the  buildings  in  the  angle  of 
the  L,  so  that  the  remotest  part  of  the  farm  is  but  little  over 
eighty  rods  away,  and  is  conveniently  reached  without  much 
labor.  Public  roads  pass  in  three  directions,  north,  south,  and 
west,  taking  the  angle  of  the  L.  The  eighty  is  surrounded  by 
a  hedge  fence,  and  is  also  divided  in  three  equal  parts  by  two 
cross  hedges.  The  forty  is  partly  hedge  and  partly  rail  fence, 
divided  in  about  the  center  by  a  rail  fence,  which  has  reached 


FEED  ALL  GBAIN  AND  GRASS.  75 

its  present  position  by  a  series  of  removals,  as  the  timber  has 
been  made  to  recede  before  it. 

The  west  and  northwest  is  sheltered  by  natural  groves, 
but  as  these  are  beginning  to  disappear  before  the  woodman's 
ax,  artificial  groves  have  been  grown  to  meet  and  mingle, 
and  break  the  cold  north  wind.  Two  small  ravines,  or  spring 
branches,  and  one  large  ravine,  furnish  living  water  for  stock 
the  year  round,  and  are  situated  on  each  division  of  the  farm. 
Although  a  large  portion  of  the  land  has  been  in  cultivation 
for  a  long  time,  its  fertility  is  nearly  as  good  as  when  first 
broken.  No  artificial  manures,  or  patent  ones  either,  have  ever 
been  used.  The  plan  has  been  to 

FEED  ON  THE  PLACE  ALL  THE  GRAIN  AND  GEASS 

grown  upon  it ;  and  with  favorable  seasons  the  crops  are 
still  abundant.  The  principal  crops  have  been  corn,  hay 
and  grass,  with  some  wheat  each  year.  Sixty  to  seventy- 
five  bushels  of  corn  per  acre  and  twenty-five  to  thirty  bushels 
of  wheat  have  been  frequently  raised.  The  pasture  land  is  blue 
grass  and  white  clover,  which  is  plowed  under  and  put  to  corn  for 
three  or  four  years,  then  sown  to  wheat  and  seeded  with  timothy, 
or  seeded  without  the  wheat  and  used  for  hay  two  to  three  years. 
Turned  to  pasture  one  or  two  years,  brings  it  back  to  its 
starting  point  again.  This  is  about  the  best  rotation  I  have 
ever  been  able  to  make.  The  cleanings  of  the  barnyard  and 
the  manures  from  the  stable  are  mostly  used  on  third  or  fourth 
year  corn  ground,  thrown  in  heaps  over  the  field  during 
Winter  and  scattered  about  just  before  plowing  in  Spring. 

HORSES. 

My  horses,  or  rather  colts,  are  bought  at  weaning  time. 
Ten  to  fifteen  head,  and  even  more  have  been  kept  and  grown 
to  two  and  three  years  old.  They  are  then  mostly  sold 
to  neighboring  farmers.  I  have  now  fifteen  yearling  colts  and 
eight  foaled  this  season.  A  number  of  these  are  graded  Nor- 
mans from  a  horse  I  raised  myself.  Their  feed  is  grass  in  Sum- 
mer, hay  and  fodder  with  some  corn  in  Winter  ;  but  all  they  will 
eat  of  good  hay  is  the  best  feed.  I  have  wintered  them  so  in  ex- 


76  MACON  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

cellent  condition  without  any  grain  whatever.  I  give  them  a 
free  run  outdoors,  all  weather  except  stormy,  when  they  have 
sheds  to  stand  under,  or  stables  sufficiently  close  to  break  the 
wind.  My  barn,  30x60  feet,  has  stabling  for  20  head  ranged 
in  two  rows,  with  a  six  foot  feed-way  down  the  center,  and  a 
"lean-to"  stabling  ten  more.  No  disease  except  the  distemper 
has  ever  been  prevalent  among  my  horses,  and  they  scarcely  ever 
need  further  treatment  than  good  care  from  rough,  stormy 
weather. 

GRADE   ALDERNEY   CATTLE. 

I  keep  on  this  farm  from  15  to  25  head  two-year-olds  and 
under.  My  cows  are  kept  longer.  The  rule  is,  when  maturity 
is  arrived  at,  or  near,  "  to  sell,"  and  raise  up  younger  ones 
to  supply  their  places.  I  have  been  making  milk  and  butter 
quite  an  object  for  several  years,  and  to  this  end  I  have  pro- 
cured an  Alderney  bull  of  good  strain  and  crossed  him  with 
the  best  native  milkers  I  could  get.  The  result  is  very  satis- 
factory. I  have  thus  obtained  some  of  the  best  milk  and  but- 
ter cows  I  ever  saw.  I  am  now  using  the  second  bull,  and 
have  made  some  very  satisfactory  sales  of  graded  heifers  and 
cows,  as  I  had  them  to  spare. 

HOGS. 

I  have  been  in  the  hog  business,  and  I  have  been  out  too. 
For  a  few  years  I  have  kept  quite  a  number  of  graded  Berk- 
shires,  ranging  from  30  to  40  head,  and  sold  them  as  stockers. 
I  butchered  44  head  last  season  and  made  them  into  bacon, 
and  think  I  did  much  better  than  selling  at  2£c.  per  Ib.  gross 
(all  I  could  get  then).  I  am  now  convinced  that  unless  a  sur- 
plus of  corn  is  raised,  to  sell  as  stockers  is  best,  selling  as  soon 
as  100  Ibs  is  reached,  or  in  about  two  months  after  weaning. 
This  is  the  plan  I  am  now  pursuing,  keeping  about  10 
graded  sows  to  breed  to  the  best  boar  I  can  get.  The  result 
is  about  100  shoats,  more  or  less,  per  year  to  sell,  which  have 
consumed  but  little  corn.  Last  year  I  lost  a  number  of  young 
hogs  by  cholera.  I  have  no  cure  to  offer,  but  an  awful  big  pre- 
ventative :  separate  all  affected  pigs  and  change  pasture  with 
the  balance  at  once.  If  they  drink  or  eat  together  they  will 


THE   ORCHARD.  77 

take  the  cholera.     If  they  don't  they  will  not,  even  if  kept  in 

adjoining  pens. 

FOWLS. 

Six  years  ago  my  wife  and  I  began  to  keep  fowls  ;  and  I 
presume  pretty  much  all  over  the  country  the  "fowl  fever" 
raged.  We  at  once  bought  some  fine  "fowls."  Before  this 
we  kept  chickens,  but  did  not  count  them  of  much  conse- 
quence,— a  kind  of  "  necessary  nuisance."  We  bought  from 
the  best  sources,  light  and  dark  Brahmas,  buff,  partridge  and 
black  Cochins,  Plymouth  Rock,  Houdans  and  Grey  Silver  Ban- 
tams, also  the  Rouen,  Aylesbury  and  Pekin  ducks.  We  gave 
them  good  care  in  separate  yards,  and  attended  the  fairs  and 
poultry  exhibitions  with  considerable  success.  We  learned 
something.  The  fever  I  think  did  us  good  at  least  in  one 
direction.  We  have  learned  to  look  upon  "  Biddy  "  with  more 
respect,  and  consider  that  she  occupies  no  mean,  or  even  small 
place  on  a  farm,  when  reasonably  attended  to.  We  now  keep 
only  two  breeds,  and  expect  to  come  to  one  as  soon  as  our 
choice  is  fairly  made.  I  would  add,  let  no  one  be  afraid  to 
handle  for  the  use  of  the  farm,  either  the  Plymouth  Rock  or 
black  Cochin,  for  they  are  excellent  breeds,  both  for  eggs  and 
table  use.  Give  them  good  warm  Winter  quarters,  and  you 
will  have  eggs  the  year  round. 

ORCHARD. 

No  farm  is  complete  without  an  orchard.  I  mean  apples, 
for  while  we  may  not  raise  peaches,  pears  and  quinces  every 
year,  we  can  have  apples.  I  have  devoted  some  twenty  acres  to 
the  apple,  and  paid  no  little  attention  to  its  varieties  and  culti- 
vation, both  in  nursery  and  orchard,  and  have  tested  on  my 
farm  over  100  kinds.  Varieties  should  be  selected  to  suit  the 
locality  and  soil.  A  good  many  varieties  do  well  in  many 
places,  while  many  more  do  well  only  in  particular  soils  and 
climate.  For  my  orchard  I  want,  first,  good  hardy  trees  that 
will  live  ;  second,  varieties  that  will  bear  so  I  will  have  fruit ; 
third,  the  best  and  most  salable  apples  I  can  find.  I  do  not 
want  too  many  sorts.  Eight  or  ten  varieties  are  enough,  if  we 
know  just  what  we  want. 


78  CLAY  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

My  plan  to  plant  an  orchard  is  to  prepare  the  rows  with 
the  plow,  by  plowing  up  and  down  the  sloping  lay  of  the  land, 
unless  very  steep  so  as  to  wash  in  gullies  ;  in  this  case,  plow 
the  rows  across.  Set  the  trees  in  these  rows.  No  need  to  row 
crossways,  but  give  more  room  to  large-growing  kinds  and  less 
to  small  growers,  for  some  varieties  require  as  much  again  room 
as  others..  After  planting  and  shaping  the  trees  by  trimming, 
keep  them  well  cultivated  the  early  part  of  the  season  for  three 
or  four  years.  Work  the  dirt  towards  the  rows,  if  the  ground 
is  near  level,  then  seed  to  clover,  and  they  will  usually  begin 
bearing  by  that  time.  I  do  not  believe  in  much  trimming. 
Trees  bear  much  younger  if  the  small  inner  branches  are  let 
alone.  I  have  frequently  grown  from  one  to  two  bushels  of 
apples  on  young  trees.  If  the  cleaning  of  main  branches  that 
many  practice  had  been  done,  it  would  have  taken  off  all 
the  apples.  The  orchard  should  be  visited  often,  and  insects 
watched  carefully,  but  the  knife  had  better  be  lost  or  left  at 
home  in  most  cases.  The  old  adage,  "pretty  is  that  pretty 
does,"  must  apply  to  trees,  and  in  an  orchard  I  think  it  means 
fruit,  rather  than  the  comely  park  or  lawn  shaped  tree. 


NOAH   WEBSTER, 

BIBLE    GROVE,    CLAY    COUNTY. 

Stock  Raising — Methods  of  G-rowing  Winter  Wheat —  When  to 
Plow  and  When  to  Sow — Clean  Seed — Force  Drill — G-ood 
open  Drains — Spreads  Manure — G-ood  Crops  and  Fair  Profits 
the  Results — Never  Sows  G-rass  Seed  When  there  is  Snow  on 
the  G-round — Horses,  Hogs  and  Sheep. 

My  farm  is  situated  in  Bible  Grove  Township,  in  Clay 
County,  Illinois.  It  contains  five  hundred  and  sixty  acres. 
Four  hundred  and  forty  are  of  prairie,  under  good  cultivation, 
and  well  adapted  to  the  growing  of  grain  and  stock-raising, 
with  dwellings  and  out-houses  as  follows  :  One  thirty-six  by 
forty  feet,  with  good  cistern  and  well  of  water,  frame  smoke 


FEED  LOTS  IN  TIMBER.  79 

house,  good  milk  house  with  cellar  underneath  the  same, 
and  convenient  out-buildings  ;  good  barn  fifty-six  by  sixty- 
four  feet,  well  arranged  for  stock,  with  cistern,  nine  by 
twenty-two  feet  deep,  which  affords  ample  stock  water ;  also, 
good  wagon,  carriage  and  implement  shed,  twenty-four  by 
twenty-five  feet ;  also,  good  frame  school-house  near  center  of 
farm,  together  with  three  other  comfortable  dwelling  houses  for 
tenants,  and  good  stabling  for  same.  The  wheat  crop  out  on 
farm,  usually  some  two  hundred  acres,  generally  does  well.  Corn 
about  one  hundred  acres,  averages  a  fair  crop.  One  hundred  and 
thirty-five  acres  in  grass,  all  well  watered  for  stock  by  good 
ponds  and  wells,  making  splendid  pastures.  It  is  also  a  good 
fruit  farm,  being  bounded  on  the  west  by  a  fine  skirt  of  timber, 
and  also  on  the  north  sufficiently  to  protect  the  fruit  trees, 
which  never  fail  in  apples,  cherries  and  grapes.  I  find  it  a  good 
place  for  bees,  as  it  is  near  the  timber  where  they  get  the  early 
bloom  off  the  maple  tree  and  other  early  flowering  timbers. 

MY  FEED   LOTS 

are  arranged  near  my  barn,  in  the  timber,  where  they 
are  high  and  dry.  The  timber  protects  the  stock  from 
the  winter  storms,  and  with  good  racks  it  is  no  hard  task 
to  feed  my  cattle,  which  do  much  better  than  those  out  in 
the  open  prairie,  where  they  have  no  shelter  from  wind,  snow 
and  rains.  My  feed  lots  and  timber  pastures  contain  one 
hundred  and  twenty  acres.  Adjoining  my  prairie  land  there  is 
a  small  creek  running  through  the  farm,  which  affords  stock 
water  the  year  round,  unless  it  is  uncommonly  dry.  Growth  of 
timber — oak,  hickory,  ash,  mulberry,  cottonwood,  sugar,  linn, 
walnut  and  elm,  some  wild  cherry  and  sassafras,  and  wild 
locust ;  timber  land  high  and  dry,  no  bottom  of  a  low  wet  nature 
on  the  stream  in  this  part  of  its  run. 

LOCATION. 

I  am  located  in  a  good  healthy  part  of  the  country  and 
about  four  miles  north-east  of  Georgetown,  a  good  and  thriv- 
ing country  village.  I  try  to  have  good  and  sufficient  teams, 
good  farming  implements,  such  as  plows,  harrows  and  good 


80  CLAY  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

field  rollers.  For  wheat,  I  plow  ray  ground  in  the  months  of 
June  and  July,  harrow  in  the  month  of  August,  then 
drag  and  pack  my  ground  well  with  a  field  roller,  and  no  later 
than  the  tenth  of  September  I  commence  sowing,  no  mat- 
ter how  dry  it  may  be.  I  never  wait  for  rain,  as  I  would 
much  rather  sow  in  the  dust  than  mud.  The  rain  will  come 
in  time  to  bring  up  the  grain.  I  make  it  a  point  to  select 
good  clean  seed,  and  usually  sow  one  and  one-fourth  bushels  to 
the  acre,  putting  in  with  a  good  force-feed  drill,  and  open  good 
surface  drains  or  ditches  so  that  the  surface  water  will  find 
its  way  off  of  all  the  wheat  ground.  When  this  is  all  done,  and 
all  the  stable  and  barnyard  manure  is  well  spread  on  the  ground, 
I  never  fail  to  raise  a  good  average  crop  and  obtain  fair  profits 
for  my  labor. 

GRASS    SEED. 

The  corn  crop  has  been  only  an  experiment  for  the  last 
three  or  four  years.  We  could  only  plow  and  plant  when  the 
weather  would  permit,  and  the  yield  has  been  small.  In 
1879  I  had  a  fair  yield,  for  the  season  was  very  good.  I  raise 
considerable  grass.  Red  Top  is  the  principal  grass  grown  in 
this  locality.  Blue  grass  and  clover  grows  well  on  timber  land. 
I  sow  my  wheat  in  the  month  of  February,  and  my  grass  seed 
when  there  are  warm  days  that  will  thaw  the  ground  a  little  so 
that  the  seed  will  catch.  I  never  sow  when  there  is  snow  on 
the  ground,  for  when  it  melts  away  it  carries  the  seed  in  streaks. 
I  never  fail  to  get  a  good  stand  for  meadow.  I  frequently 
thresh  my  Red  Top  hay  and  sell  the  seed,  as  it  will  pay  some 
profit.  When  the  seed  is  thirty-five  cents  per  bushel  the 
profit  is  small,  but  at  forty-five  or  fifty  cents  it  will  pay  a  fair 
compensation,  as  the  hay,  after  being  threshed,  makes  good  feed 
for  stock.  I  have  wintered  my  cattle  on  the  hay  after  it  was 
threshed,  and  nothing  else,  and  they  have  come  out  in  the 
Spring  looking  well. 

RAISING   CATTLE. 

Raising  cattle  is  my  principal  business,  though  I  raise  a  good 
many  hogs  and  some  horses  and  mules,  but  find  that  cattle  are 
more  profitable.  I  generally  buy  year-olds  and  keep  them  on 


HOGS— SHEEP.  81 

my  farm  until  they  are  three  or  three  'and  a  half  years  old, 
when  I  sell  them  to  feeders  to  fat,  and  replace  them  with  year- 
olds  again.  I  usually  keep  a  "  bunch  "  of  three-year-olds  and 
some  two-year-olds,  so  that  I  can  sell  a  lot  every  year,  and 
can  always  feed  my  "  roughness "  to  them,  which  otherwise 
would  be  lost.  I  find  that  this  way  pays  a  profit  for  my  labor. 

HOGS. 

I  keep  a  good  stock  of  hogs.  The  Berkshire  I 
find  to  pay  best.  Keep  good  brood  sows,  which  I  try  to  have 
well  cared  for,  and  bring  their  young  in  the  Fall  and  Spring. 
No  trouble  to  raise  hogs,  and  make  them  pay,  even  at  the  low 
prices  for  pork,  though  not  as  profitable  as  a  few  years  ago, 
when  prices  were  double. 

SHEEP. 

I  want  the  best  breeds.  The}'  should  be  kept,  to  do  well, 
on  good  dry  land  pastures,  where  the  feed  is  kept  short,  as 
they  seem  to  do  better  on  short  tender  grass,  than  on  long  rank 
growth.  Their  wool  pays  a  small  profit,  and  the  mutton  always 
finds  a  ready  sale  and  pays  a  profit,  and  they  are  good  hands 
to  keep  down  growths  of  weed  and  sprouts  on  a  farm. 

I  only  keep  what  horses  I  need  for  work,  as  there  seems 
to  be  no  pay  in  a  surplus  now,  the  prices  are  so  low.  Some 
young  ones  that  are  growing  up  to  take  the  place  of  older  ones 
when  sold  off,  are  profitable  to  me,  as  my  rule  is  to  sell  off  all 
horses  before  they  go  down  with  old  age  on  my  hands.  Never 
lost  but  one  grown  horse  in  my  life.  Mules  are  profitable,  as 
they  bring  fair  prices  and  make  good  teams.  My  motto  is  to 
sell  any  thing  when  the  price  will  pay, 


82  JERSEY  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

PETER  R.  PARSELL, 

JEESEYVILLE,   JERSEY   COUNTY. 

A  Successful  Farmer — All  Stock  Fed  on  the  same  Principle 
— Ready  for  Market  the  same  Time —  Valuable  Suggestions — 
How  to  breed  Horses  and  Mules — How  to  make  an  Osage  Fence 
—  Winter  Wheat  and  Corn  Culture — Dairy — Management  of 
Short  Horns. 

OSAGE  FARM 

is  three  miles  east  of  Jerseyville,  Jersey  County,  and  contains 
320  acres.  I  bought  it  April  16, 1866.  At  the  time  of  pur- 
chase it  was  covered  with  a  growth  of  hazel  brush  and  black 
jacks.  One  of  the  greatest  inducements  which  led  me  to  buy 
it  was  its  location  and  natural  advantages.  Plenty  of  living, 
running  water,  high  rolling  prairie,  sandy  soil,  limestone  sub- 
soil, with  easy  access  to  churches  and  schools,  and  first-rate  mar- 
kets, either  by  river  or  railroad.  I  paid  $15,50  per  acre  for  the 
land.  Just  five  years  from  the  date  of  purchase,  the  desired  end 
was  accomplished.  My  farm  was  broken  up  and  hedged  with 
osage  into  lots  of  10,  20  and  40  acres. 

THE  IMPROVEMENTS 

on  the  farm  consist  of  one  two-story  frame  house,  containing 
nine  rooms  with  kitchen  ;  a  large  barn,  66  feet  long,  42  feet 
wide  and  18  feet  high,  having  stable  room  for  54  head  of  stock, 
with  feed  and  hay-loft  room  for  150  tons  of  hay.  I  use 
hay  fork  and  rod  for  unloading  hay.  Hay  scales  20x20,  with 
shed  ;  barn  16x20  for  young  colts  and  mules  ;  barn  16x30  for 
calves  ;  shed  and  granary  20x36.  Large  stock-well,  with  wind- 
mill so  arranged  that  it  pumps  and  supplies  water  for  all  the 
stock  in  the  different  barns. 

THE   TREES 

on  the  farm,  besides  two  apple  orchards  in  bearing  condition, 
and  a  large  variety  of  small  fruit,  consist  of  cherry,  plum  and 


OSAGE  HEDGE  FENCE.  83 

peach  in  abundance.  Evergreens  shrubbery  and  flowers  com- 
plete the  picture. 

THE   STOCK 

kept  on  the  farm  from  1876  to  1879  consists  of  twenty-five 
Short  Horns  of  the  best  families,  with  the  three-year-old  bull 
Mark  Twain  at  the  head  of  the  herd.  These  are  kept  expressly 
for  breeding  purposes.  Thirty  high  grade  cows  for  dairy ; 
twenty  three-year-old  graded  steers  for  feeders;  thirty-six 
one  and  two-year-old  graded  Short  Horns ;  thirty-two  head 
of  brood  mares  and  colts,  descendents  of  Sweet  Briar, 
George  M.  Patchen  and  Highlander ;  one  Spanish  jack  ;  ten 
breeding  sows,  Poland  China ;  sixty  feeders,  with  an  average 
of  fifty  stock  hogs ;  and  four  hundred  chickens. 

HOW  TO   MAKE  AN   OSAGE    HEDGE  FENCE. 

I  grow  my  own  hedge  plants,  preparing  my  ground  one 
year  in  advance  of  setting  the  plants.  I  plant  two-year  olds. 
They  give  strong  growth.  Plant  six  inches  apart.  Prepare 
the  ground  as  early  in  the  Spring  as  possible.  Have  the  ground 
well  pulverized.  Line  out  hedge-row  and  set  stakes  about  20 
rods  apart,  until  the  line  is  completed.  In  order  to  get  the 
furrow  deep  enough,  plow  twice.  Be  sure  and  plow  the  same 
way  each  time,  for  the  reason  that  the  beam  side  of  the  furrow 
to  set  plants  by,  is  wanted.  Before  setting  out  the  plants  pud- 
dle the  roots  well  in  mud.  This  is  the  great  secret  in  raising 
hedges.  The  moist  earth  being  in  contact  with  the  young 
fibers  soon  starts  them  growing.  I  have  eight  miles  of  hedge  on 
this  farm  and  I  never  reset  one  rod  of  it.  Three  men  and  one 
plow  team  can  put  out  one  mile  in  one  day.  It  is  very  impor- 
tant to  set  deep  enough  to  cover  up  the  yellow  bark ;  don't 
bank  the  earth  around  the  plant,  but  have  the  ground 
after  setting  perfectly  level.  Do  not  cut  the  tops  below  the 
thorns,  for  in  cutting  so  low  all  the  live  buds  are  cut  off,  and 
the  plants  will  grow  unevenly.  One  can  not  begin  too  soon  to 
cultivate.  Keep  down  all  the  weeds  and  stir  the  ground 
well,  for  the  osage  plant  needs  a  great  deal  of  moisture. 
Keep  stock  from  browsing  or  walking  upon  the  hedge  row. 


84  JERSEY  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

To  lose  one's  work,  as  some  do,  plant  hedges  and  give  no  at- 
tention, and  wind  up  saying  "  I  don't  like  that  kind  of  fence." 
Cultivate  well  for  two  years.  Third  year  mulch,  and  give 
no  more  attention  until  the  fourth  year.  If  the  hedge  has  been 
well  "  tended,"  it  is  now  ready  for  "  laying  down."  First,  trim 
up  the  plants  from  six  to  eight  feet,  leaving  nothing  but  straight 
poles.  Check  the  plant  near  the  root.  Lay  down  at  about  an 
angle  of  45  degrees.  Every  four  to  six  feet,  leave  one  for 
a  brace.  Trimming  can  be  done  safely  from  the  10th  to  the 
20th  of  June ;  then  trim  from  October  to  April.  Very  bad  for 
the  plants  to  trim  in  August,  as  it  cuts  the  life  of  the  hedge, 
and  the  next  year  there  is  not  enough  sap  to  fill  the  branches; 
the  result  is  a  great  lot  of  dead-wood.  Give  the  osage  a  fair 
trial,  and  I  contend  from  my  own  experience  that  it  is  the  most 
economical,  the  most  durable,  and  the  most  [ornamental  fence 
in  existence. 

MY  METHOD  OF  FARMING  IS  ROTATION  OF  CROPS. 

Winter  wheat  is  one  of  my  main  crops,  well  adapted 
to  our  soil,  and  when  properly  cultivated  will  yield  large 
returns.  I  always  plow  my  stubble  and  spread  from  four 
to  six  loads  of  barnyard  manure  per  acre — more  if  I  can 
get  it.  Then  harrow  and  roll.  I  use  the  drag  and  work  the 
ground  down  fine  and  solid.  About  the  first  of  September,  I 
drag  and  roll  again,  which  completes  the  work,  and  the  ground 
is  ready  for  the  grain  drill.  I  commence  sowing  about  the 
fifth  of  September.  Sow  three  pecks  to  the  acre.  Sow  the 
Fultz  wheat.  My  harvest  in  1879  was  as  follows :  GO  acres, 
35  bushels  per  acre,  2,100  bushels,  machine  measure.  Some  por- 
tions of  the  field  yielded  as  high  as  47£  bushels.  I  grow  two 
crops  of  wheat  on  the  same  land.  I  seed  with  timothy  and 
clover.  I  sow  the  timothy  and  clover  with  a  drill  in  the  Fall. 
The  following  March  I  sow  red  clover ;  this  remains  in  meadow 
four  years,  cutting  the  hay  for  stock  and  pasturing.  Red 
clover  is  one  of  the  best  fertilizers  and  excellent  food  for  stock. 

CORN,   THE  KING 

of  crops,  is  all  consumed  upon  the  farm.  I  plow  my  corn  land  in 


THE  GREAT  SECRET.  85 

the  Spring,  as  early  as  possible.  Generally  turn  over  the 
clover  and  timothy  sod,  and  in  the  Winter  manure  it  with 
eight  loads  to  the  acre.  I  use  a  three-horse  riding-plow. 
Plow  eight  inches  deep,  harrow  well,  and  plant  about  the  first 
of  May.  I  use  the  check  rower  and  plant  in  rows  four  feet  apart 
each  way.  Cultivate  first  with  square  harrow  before  the  corn 
is  up.  The  object  is  to  destroy  all  young  weeds.  I  then  use 
the  roller  to  keep  the  ground  solid  and  moist.  As  soon  as  the 
corn  is  large  enough,  say  four  inches  high,  I  put  in  the  plow 
and  never  stop  cultivating  until  the  corn  is  laid  by.  I  never 
use  the  cultivator,  I  prefer  the  plow  and  roller.  My  corn 
will  average  80  bushels  to  the  acre,  70  acres=5,600  bush- 
els. I  feed  all  my  corn  ground.  Brother  farmer,  do  you 
ever  sell  corn  at  present  market  value,  34  cents  per  bushel  ? 
I  say  no  !  My  corn  is  worth  68  cents  per  bushel  to  me  on  my 
farm  by  feeding  to  good  stock,  such  as  horses,  mules,  beef 
cattle,  dairy  cows,  hogs  and  sheep.  In  the  first  place 

I  KEEP  THE  BEST    STOCK. 

It  costs  no  more  to  raise  a  good  animal  than  it  does  to 
feed  a  poor  one.  I  feed  ground  corn  with  wheat  bran,  in 
water.  I  keep  all  stock  under  shelter  in  stalls.  I  feed  four 
quarts  of  meal  to  each  grown  animal  twice  a  day,  smaller 
stock  in  proportion,  with  hay,  corn  fodder  and  wheat  straw  as 
a  change.  In  keeping  the  stock  warm  they  eat  less  and  thrive 
in  Winter  just  as  well  as  they  do  in  Summer.  Each  grown 
animal  will  raise  one  hog,  and  now  comes 

THE  GKEAT   SECRET. 

All  the  stock  are  fed  on  the  same  plan.  All  are  fat  and 
ready  for  market  the  same  time.  The  hogs  clear  gain,  while 
the  farmer  has  a  fine  lot  of  manure,  worth  one  dollar  for  every 
load,  to  put  on  his  land.  Brother  farmers,  I  contend  that,  one 
year  with  another,  the  farmer  will  realize  just  double  the  mar- 
ket value  of  his  corn  fed  in  this  way,  and  have  the  pleasure 
of  making  first-class  beef  for  export,  and  realize  the  highest 


86  JERSEY  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

price.  Therefore  I  claim  corn  is  king  in  the  State  of  Illinois 
for  the  working  farmer. 

IN  BREEDING   SHORT   HORN  CATTLE 

and  grades,  there  is  a  great  source  of  profit  if  properly  done. 
I  do  not  believe  in  feeding  Short  Horns  for  "  show  animals," 
and  calling  them  breeders.  I  keep  my  breeding  animals  in  good 
growing  condition.  I  let  the  calves  run  with  the  cows  for  four 
months  and  then  wean  them.  I  feed  corn  meal  and  wheat 
shorts  with  some  hay  and  corn-fodder.  At  from  nine  to  twelve 
months  old  they  are  ready  for  market  as  breeders.  The  bulls 
readily  command  $100  each.  I  never  sell  my  heifer  calves. 
If  they  are  not  good  breeders,  I  have  them  spayed  and  run  into 
beef.  I  find  in  crossing  the  Short  Horns  with  the  high  grades 
and  scrubs  the  greatest  results.  The  cross  makes  well  formed 
animals,  and  at  the  age  of  three  years  will  weigh  from  1,400  to 
1,600  Ibs.,  and  this  by  feeding  the  roughness  of  the  farm  with 
a  small  amount  of  grain. 

DAIRY  COWS. 

I  keep  thirty  cows  for  the  dairy  and  breeding  purposes. 
I  raise  all  the  calves.  Let  them  run  with  the  cow  two  weeks, 
then  take  them  off  and  feed  on  skim-milk  and  corn-meal  and 
shorts,  with  pasture  in  the  Summer,  and  hay  or  corn-fodder  in 
the  Winter.  My  cows  average  170  Ibs.  of  butter  each. 

30  cows,  170  Ibs.  of  butter =5,100  Ibs.  at  25c.  $1,275  00 
30  calves  at  $20 600  00 


$1,875  00 

In  Summer  my  cows  run  on  good  blue  grass  clover  and 
timothy  pasture.  No  grain  fed  in  Summer.  In  Winter  I  feed 
corn  meal  and  wheat  bran.  Four  quarts  to  each  cow  with  an 
allowance  of  hay  and  corn  fodder.  My  cows  are  all  well  kept 
in  a  warm  stable  in  stalls,  with  chain  around  the  neck.  I 
churn  with  power. 

BREEDING   AND    RAISING   HORSES. 

I  use  well  bred  mares  and  a  high  bred  stallion  to  get  good 
roadsters.  I  keep  three  mares  for  this  purpose.  I  do  not 


MULES.  87 

work  my  mares  for  three  or  four  months  after  they  have  foaled. 
Give  them  good  pasturage  and  no  grain.  In  this  way  I  am 
sure  to  breed  every  year,  and  my  foals  are  ready  for  the  show- 
ring  and  take  the  first  premiums.  I  wean  my  colts  at  five 
months  old,  feed  them  oats  and  wheat  bran,  two  quarts 
each  twice  a  day,  give  good  run  of  pasture,  and  stable  them  at 
night.  I  feed  very  little  grain  in  rearing  a  horse,  just  give 
him  enough  to  keep  him  growing.  Break  him  to  the  halter 
at  six  months  old,  commence  to  harness  and  drive  at  three 
years  old,  and  am  ready  for  the  carriage  at  four  years  old.  My 
horses  sell  freely  from  1150  to  $300. 

MULES. 

In  breeding  and  raising  mules  I  keep  three  brood  mares 
and  use  a  well-bred  Spanish  jack.  An  experience  of  thirty  years 
teaches  me  that  to  grow  large,  compact,  well-formed  mules, 
with  good  action,  you  must  have  the  very  best  bred  mares. 
Give  them  good  pasture  and  no  grain.  At  five  months  I 
wean  the  foal  and  feed  two  quarts  of  oats  twice  a  day.  Run 
them  in  the  pasture  in  the  day,  and  stable  at  night.  Commence 
haltering  them  at  six  months  old,  and  handle  carefully.  I 
have  raised  mules  for  profit.  Never  sold  a  mule  less  than  $125, 
and  as  high  as  $250  each.  I  always  aim  to  raise  large,  com- 
pact, well-formed  animals.  My  mules  always  take  first 
premiums  when  exhibited  at  the  fairs. 

MEMORANDUM  OF  RECEIPTS   FOR    1879. 

Winter  wheat,    60  acres,   35  bushels  2,100  bushels. 

Corn,                    70     "         80      "  -     5,600      " 

Oats,                     10     "        40      "      -  400      " 

Hay  crop,             75  tons,       1  ton  to  the  acre,             75  tons. 
Apples,               500  bushels. 

10  large  young  mules,  average  each      -  $150  00  per  head. 

4  young  road  horses,         "         "     -  -       225  00         " 

20  fat  steers,                        "        "  -    60  00         " 

60  fat  hogs,                          "         "     -  12  00        " 

4  Short  Horn  bulls,           "         "  -  100  00         " 

30  calves,                        "        "  20  00        " 


88  JERSEY  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

SALES. 

5,100  Ibs.  of  butter,  at  25c.  per  Ib.  $1,275  00 

Hay     -  250  00 

Poultry  and  eggs     -  150  00 

400,000  osage  orange  plants,  at  $2  25  per  M,  900  00 

500  bushels  of  apples  at  50c.  per  bushel       -  250  00 

Total.     -  $2,825  00 

TOTAL. 

Sales  $2,825  00 

Stock  (on  hand)    -  5,320  00 

Grain  (on  hand — value  estimated)  -  5,900  00 


Total    -  $14,045  00 

IN  CONCLUSION. 

I  have  all  the  necessary  machinery  to  run  a  well  regulated 
farm.  I  never  sell  corn  at  the  market  value,  when  I  can  feed 
to  stock  and  more  than  double  my  money.  I  never  burn 
straw  or  corn  stalks.  I  convert  them  both  into  manure  for  the 
benefit  of  the  farm.  I  have  never  bought  one  bushel  of  corn 
for  feeding  purposes  since  I  have  been  on  my  farm.  I  never 
bought  a  ton  of  hay  since  I  mowed  my  first  meadow.  I  never 
bought  one  pound  of  butter.  I  never  hired  any  one  to  do  what 
I  could  do  myself.  All  the  improvements  on  the  farm  have 
been  made  from  the  sales  of  the  products  of  the  farm.  This 
once  so-called  worthless  piece  of  land  has  rewarded  me 
beyond  my  most  sanguine  expectations.  I  was  not  over- 
stocked with  money  when  I  purchased  my  farm.  It  is  true 
I  had  some  capital,  but  I  had  something  better.  God,  in 
His  Providence,  had  seen  fit  to  give  me  six  boys  and  three  girls, 
and  a  first-rate  wife.  Remembering  the  old  saying,  "  He  that 
would  by  farming  thrive,  must  either  hold  the  plow  or  drive,"  I 
did  both,  and  am  now  reaping  the  reward.  The  boys 
are  nearly  all  grown.  Two  of  my  sons  have  each  farms  of 


THE  SECRET.  ,   39 

their  own.     I  have  four  sons  at  home,  two  daughters  married 
and  on  farms,  and  one  daughter  left.     Now,  brother  farmers, 

HERE  IS   THE   SECRET: 

We  all  worked,  used  economy,  and  had  patience.  My 
motto  was — a  thing  well  done  was  twice  done.  No  hand-to- 
mouth  work  with  me.  It  was  my  aim  to  educate  my  boys  for  the 
farm,  and  in  so  doing  I  gave  them  every  encouragement  when 
quite  young.  I  would  give  them  a  colt  or  a  calf— and  the  increase. 
I  considered  it  one  of  the  best  investments  a  boy  could  have.  It 
teaches  him  how  to  make  a  dollar,  and  then  how  to  save  it.  If 
he  earns  it,  he  knows  how  the  dollar  was  made  and  he  has  the 
value  in  his  mind.  This  is  the  plan  I  have  pursued  with  my 
boys  in  making  my  farm.  I  am  proud  that  I  can  look  about  me 
and  see  what  I  have  done.  All  the  crops  on  my  farm  for 
years  have  paid  large  profits,  and  the  farm  is  now  in  a  higher 
state  of  cultivation  than  when  I  first  broke  it  up. 


AARON  BUNN, 

CLAY   CITY,    CLAY  COUNTY. 

Corn  Culture — Shelter  for  Stock — Self-Feeder — Pro-fits  Come  in 
Regularly — Hogs — Never  Sells  any  Corn —  Wheat  Culture — 
Tame  G-rasses  and  their  Management. 

HOW  SHALL  I   MANAGE  IT  TO   PAY    THE  BEST? 

I  have  a  farm  in  Stanford  Township,  Clay  County,  Illinois, 
containing  five  hundred  and  four  acres.  Now  the  question 
comes,  How  will  I  manage  it  to  make  it  pay  the  best  ?  The  time 
was  when  we  raised  lots  of  corn,  a  little  wheat  and  a  little  hay  ; 
but  times  have  changed — we  must  watch  every  thing.  Now  we 
must  have  plenty  of  pasture,  plenty  of  hay,  all  the  wheat 'we 
can  put  in  right  and  take  care  of,  and  a  little  corn.  Our  land 
is  rolling  prairie,  clay  soil.  Then  corn  would  grow  with 
but  little  attention,  but  now  it  takes  a  good  farmer  to  raise 


90  CLAY  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

it.  On  my  own  farm  I  aim  to  keep  two-thirds  of  the  land 
in  grass,  wheat  and  hay,  the  balance  I  use  for  pasture. 

CORN. 

I  raise  fifty  acres  a  year,  I  used  to  raise  one  hundred  and 
fifty  acres.  I  now  aim  to  plow  land  that  has  been  idle,  or  wheat- 
stubble  for  corn.  I  try  to  have  my  land  plowed  as  early  in  the 
Spring  as  the  season  will  admit.  I  plow  from  eight  to  ten 
inches  deep.  I  want  the  ground  dry  and  warm,  and  well  pul- 
verized before  planting.  I  plant  in  checks.  I  use  a  two-horse 
planter.  Mark  first  plain,  then  turn  with  the  planter  the 
other  way,  drive  straight,  and  have  a  good  careful  dropper. 
Commence  to  plow  corn  as  soon  as  it  is  three  inches  high. 
Plow  as  close  as  possible.  I  use  a  two-horse  cultivator  with 
fenders.  Plow  every  ten  days.  I  have  found  it  pays  well 
to  plow  corn  when  it  commences  to  tassel.  I  then  use  one 
horse  with  a  single  plow.  This  plowing  will  always  pay. 

I  SHELTER  ALL  OF  MY   STOCK. 

They  will  do  better,  and  will  not  eat  as  much.  No.  1 
is  the  horse  barn.  Under  the  same  roof  there  is  always  plenty 
of  corn  and  hay  without  going  outside.  Barn  No.  2  is  50  feet 
by  80  feet ;  this  I  use  to  stall-feed  cattle.  I  tie  the  cattle  up. 
The  barn  is  all  floored  with  2-inch  plank.  My  hogs  follow  my 
cattle  and  do  well.  This  barn  has  been  built  nine  years.  I 
have  fattened  cattle  in  it  seven  times,  and  I  always  have  been 
well  paid.  I  keep  o*ur  milch  cows  in  this  barn.  Barn  No.  3  is 
for  stock  cattle.  It  is  56  feet  by  80.  It  is 

WHAT  WE  CALL  A   STOCK  BAKN. 

The  loft  is  7  feet  high.  Has  a  rack  from  the  ground  to  the 
loft  lengthwise  clear  across  the  barn.  I  feed  hay,  straw  and 
fodder  in  this  barn.  Then  I  have  a  shed  for  all  of  our  farming 
implements.  These  barns  are  all  built  on  a  cheap  plan. 

I  do  not  pretend  to  be  a  real  practical  farmer.  I  do  not 
know  what  every  bushel  of  wheat,  oats  or  corn  costs  me,  but  I 
do  know  at  the  end  of  a  year  what  my  profits  or  losses  are.  I 
never  have  had  a  loss  on  a  year's  labor.  My  profits  have  come 


PLENTY  OF  WORK  HORSES.  91 

in  very  regularly,  and  have  been  over  one  thousand  dollars  a 
year  ever  since  I  commenced  to  farm  and  raise  stock. 

I  KEEP   PLENTY    OF   WORK  HORSES. 

I  do  not  raise  them  purposely  to  sell.  I  never  aim  to  work  a 
horse  to  death.  A  horse  can  be  worked  on  a  farm  until  he  is 
8  or  9  years  old;  then  I  sell  him.  I  keep  from  80  to  125  head 
of  cattle  all  the  time,  and  of  all  ages.  I  sell  at  from  three  and 
a  half  to  four  years  old.  As  soon  as  I  sell  I  buy  again,  young 
cattle,  of  course.  I  keep  as  many  hogs  as  I  have  feed  for,  and 
often 

I  BUY    LARGE    QUANTITIES   OP    CORN 

and  feed.  I  am  always  governed  by  the  price  of  corn  and 
stock,  as  I  never  aim  to  do  any  thing  that  does  not  pay,  and  it 
does  not  pay  to  buy  corn  to  feed  when  corn  is  high  and  stock 
is  low.  I  always  feed  all  the  corn  ;  I  never  sell  any. 

WHEAT. 

I  have  found  by  experience  that  one  plowing  is  the  best 
for  wheat,  unless  we  have  had  a  great  deal  of  rain.  Our  land 
must  be  well  pulverized  and  packed,  and  drilled  about  the 
middle  of  September.  If  we  seed  our  land  when  it  is  too 
loose  it  freezes  out  badly  in  the  Winter.  I  have  worked  this 
farm  for  fifteen  years.  I  have  had  two  partial  failures  of 
wheat.  One  on  account  of  the  army  worm  in  the  Fall ;  they 
ate  it  off  and  it  died.  I  drilled  again  in  October ;  the  wheat 
did  not  get  much  root,  and  it  was  killed  in  February  and 
March.  The  other  failure  was  from  an  extremely  dry  Fall,  when 
we  had  the  fly.  Except  these  two  crops,  I  never  raised  less  than 
fourteen  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre,  and  from  that  to  twenty- 
five  and  a  half  bushels  per  acre.  I  plow  for  wheat  the  last  of 
June  and  through  July.  I  plow  in  lands  about  seven  steps 
wide,  and  am  careful  to  open  all  furrows  so  that  the  water  will 
not  stand  on  the  wheat.  I  plow  five  inches  deep.  Sow  the 
Mediterranean  wheat,  the  best  for  our  prairie  land,  as  it  is 
the  most  hardy. 


92  JASPER  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

THE  TREATMENT  OF    GEASS    AND   PASTURE  LANDS 

should  be  our  chief  study,  as  therein  are  the  greatest  profits 
for  the  least  investment.  It  is  strange  to  think  that  grass 
will  grow  under  water,  and  especially  tame  grass.  We 
mostly  seed  our  wheat  land  with  grass,  sown  in  February 
on  the  wheat.  It  does  well,  and  is  a  great  saving  of  time  and 
labor.  If  there  is  any  crop  I  pay  particular  attention  to  it  isi 
wheat,  therefore  this  land  is  in  good  chape  for  grass.  I  mow  the 
grass  land  four  years,  then  pasture  three,  and  then  break  the 
sod.  I  have  two  reasons  for  this :  First,  it  keeps  up  a  rotation 
of  crops ;  second,  the  ground  has  become  more  or  less  foul 
by  this  time,  and  has  run  out.  The  leading  grass  of  this  coun- 
try is  red  top.  We  sow  a  great  deal  of  timothy  and  some 
clover,  but  they  will  not  hold  a  sod  like  the  red  top.  We 
sometimes  cut  two  and  a  half  or 'three  tons  to  the  acre.  Red 
top  makes  more  pasture  than  either  clover  or  timothy. 


A.  G.  CALDWELL, 

ISLAND   GROVE,   JASPER  COUNTY. 

A  Stock  Farm — Most  Successful   With    Grade    Cattle — Corn 
Wheat — Fruit- — Fish — Thorough  Systematic  Under  Drainage 
only  Needed  for  the  Full  Development  of  Jasper. 

Island  Grove,  Jasper  County,  is  situated  15  miles  north- 
west of  the  county  seat,  Newton.  My  farm  proper  contains 
600  acres,  which  I  use  mostly  as  a  stock  farm.  I  have  other 
adjacent  farms  where  I  raise  most  of  my  cereals.  My  farm 
proper  I  have  mostly  in  grasses,  viz.:  clover,  timothy  and 
red  top. 

CATTLE. 

I  have  about  100  stockers  on  my  farm,  and  about  the 
same  number  that  I  am  feeding  for  the  market. 

My  mode  of  handling  these  stockers  would  suggest  itself 
to  any  feeder  who  proposes  to  feed  for  profit.  I  keep  my  ani- 
mals constantly  in  a  growing  condition,  by  having  a  full  diet 


HOGS  — CORN.  93 

of  nutritious  food  adapted  to  the  growth  of  the  young  animals. 
Fat  is  an  unwholesome  product  of  the  young,  of  all  species,* 
but  the  breeder  who  allows  stock  to  stand  still  or  not  gain 
steadily  in  flesh,  without  feeding  to  fatten  is  losing  sight 
of  his  own  profit.  The  practice  of  starving  stackers  in  the 
Fall  season,  that  one  may  have  the  more  feed  in  the  Winter 
and  Spring  months  is,  in  my  opinion,  saving  at  the  spigot  and 
letting  out  at  the  lung. 

After  my  stockers  reach  the  age  of  say  30  months,  I  then 
begin  feeding  corn,  Summer  and  Winter,  attending  them  closely 
until  they  leave  the  farm.  I  feed  in  troughs  and  keep  an 
abundance  of  fresh  water.  My  cattle  put  on  in  Winter 
months  from  2  to  3  Ibs.  per  day ;  when  on  grass  and  corn  from 
3  to  4  Ibs.  per  day,— have  reached  5  Ibs.,  though  rarely. 

I  have  been  the  most  successful  in  feeding  grade  cattle. 
I  prefer  natives  mixed  with  the  Short  Horns.  A  good  yearling 
steer  is  cheaper  at  $15,  than  an  inferior  one  is  at  $8. 

The  dairy  I  make  no  specialty  of.  My  cows  are  good 
quality  of  grade,  bred  to  the  Short  Horn,  giving  me  the  best 

stockers  and  feeders. 

HOGS. 

I  prefer  the  Poland  China  and  Berkshire,  as  they  are  the 
breeds  that  are  best  adapted  to  our  climate,  and  put  on  flesh 
equal  to  any  breeds  I  have  tried.  Breeding  of  fine  hogs  I  have 
never  practiced,  although  I  think  it  would  be  profitable  in  our 
section,  as  it  costs  but  little  to  make  a  shoat,  say  the  first  100 
Ibs.,  and  then  sell  for  breeder.  My  stockers  are  fed  by  follow- 
ing the  cattle.  I  use  two  lots,  keeping  the  cattle  one  day 
ahead  of  hogs.  The  last  two  months  of  feeding,  keep  them 
entirely  to  themselves.  My  pork  costs  me  on  an  average  2| 

cts.  per  pound. 

CORN. 

I  generally  cultivate  200  acres  each  year.  I  use  the  best 
plows  that  I  can  buy.  Plow  my  ground  from  4  to  6  inches 
deep,  then  harrow  until  very  fine,  getting  the  ground  thor- 
oughly pulverized  before  planting.  In  an  ordinary  season  I 
plant  in  the  first  half  of  the  month  of  April,  then  tend  well 


94  JASPER  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

while  small,  and  I  rarely  fail  to  get  from  50  to  60  bushels  per 
acre,  at  a  cost  of  from  20  to  25  cents  per  bushel. 

WHEAT 

is  fast  becoming  one  of  our  most  renumerative  crops.  I  have 
been  most  successful  when  I  plow  my  ground  in  the  last  half 
of  June,  giving  ample  time  for  the  ground  to  undergo  a  state 
of  decomposition  (plowing  shallow,  which  has  proven  best  in 
our  county).  I  then  commence  preparing  the  ground  the  last 
half  of  the  month  of  August,  by  harrowing  and  rolling  until 
thoroughly  pulverized  and  packed.  Then  in  the  first  half  of 
the  month  of  September,  I  drill  north  and  south,  if  practicable, 
draining  all  water  off  by  opening  the  dead  furrows  and  places 
where  water  might  stand  ;  after  this  is  done,  I  seldom  fail  to 

get  a  paying  crop  of  wheat. 

FRUIT 

has  paid  well.  Apple  and  peach  trees  I  cultivate  when  small, 
passing  over  them  carefully  Spring  and  Fall  to  clear  them  of 
borers,  which  are  destroyed  by  being  cut  out  or  followed  with 
a  small  wire. 


(Concord)  occupy  one-fifth  of  an  acre,  which  I  cultivate  as  I 
would  a  garden,  allowing  nothing  else  to  grow  on  the  land.  I 
train  the  vine  on  posts  and  slats  as  high  as  my  head,  pruning  in 
Spring  before  the  sap  rises.  From  three-fourths  of  the  above 
land  I  made  225  gallons  of  wine,  making  a  yield  of  1,500  gal- 
lons per  acre.  FIgH 

I  have  on  my  farm  a  pond  for  the  purpose  of  furnishing 
water  for  stock,  made  by  putting  a  dam  across  a  ravine,  and 
constructed  so  as  to  let  off  the  surplus  water  without  cutting 
out  the  dam.  In  the  Fall  of  1879  a  seine  was  drawn  in  this  pond, 
resulting  in  the  catching  of  as  fine  cat  and  buffalo  fish  as  there 
is  in  any  of  our  rivers.  How  these  fish  came  there  I  do  not 
pretend  to  say,  but  they  are  there,  and  in  an  abundance.  I  am 
satisfied  that  any  varieties  will  do  well  in  these  ponds,  and  all 
may  have  fish  at  little  or  no  extra  cost. 

POULTRY. 

I  have  never   made  a  specialty  of   raising  the    different 


DRAINAGE.  95 

distinct  breeds,  but  on  the  other  hand  often  cross  my  chickens, 
as  in  the  crosses  I  think  I  get  fowls  better  adapted  for  all  uses. 
I  save  our  early  Spring  pullets  for  layers  the  following 
Winter,  as  this  is  the  season  that  eggs  are  scarce.  Early 
pullets,  the  following  Winter  after  they  are  hatched,  are  the 
proper  age  for  good  layers  ;  this  adhered  to,  with  proper  care 
and  feed,  there  will  never  be  a  lack  of  eggs  in  Winter  season. 

DRAINAGE. 

I  have  not  experimented  any  in  underground  drainage, 
as  my  farm  is  rolling  enough  to  dry  sufficiently  by  open 
ditches.  There  is  not  one  farm  in  twenty  but  needs  draining 
to  bring  it  into  a  higher  state  of  cultivation.  I  venture  to  say 
that  every  wheat  field  would  produce  a  larger  and  finer  crop 
if  properly  drained. 

I  think  it  may  be  truthfully  said  that  our  county  furn- 
ishes as  large  an  area  of  equally  fertile  lands  as  any  other 
in  the  State.  The  only  thing  needed  for  the  full  develop- 
ment of  its  productiveness,  is  a  thorough  and  systematic 
surface  and  under  drainage. 


C.  CROUCH, 

BELLE   PRAIRIE,  HAMILTON     COUNTY. 

Pioneer  Farming  in  1821 — Bear  and  Deer  in  Abundance — Pan- 
thers and  Wildcats —  The  County  Now  One  Vast  Winter 
Wheat  Field. 

My  farm  is  situated  in  the  north  part  of  Hamilton  County, 
Illinois,  about  the  center  east  and  west,  and  consists  of  four 
hundred  acres — two  hundred  and  twenty  in  a  good  state 
of  cultivation,  remainder  in  unenclosed  wood  land.  It  was 
originally  heavily  timbered  for  this  part  of  the  State.  The  wal- 
nut, sassafras  and  mulberry  stumps  many  of  them  remaining 
with  me,  although  mostly  cleared  and  put  in  cultivation  for 
forty  or  fifty  years,  my  father  having  settled  on  the  same  in 


96  HAMILTON  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

January,  1818.  I  was  born  on  the  place  in  1821,  and  with  the 
exception  of  about  two  years  have  resided  thereon  my  whole 
life.  My  father  was  a  stock  grower  principally.  Hogs  and 
cattle  were  raised  in  the  woods, except  fora  few  months  in  the 
Winter,  when  they  were  fed  and  cared  for.  When  there  was 
no  market  for  hogs,  we  raised  corn,  rye,  oats  and  wheat.  After 
clearing,  we  generally  raised  two  or  three  crops  of  corn, 
broadcasting  rye  among  the  corn  for  pasturage,  feeding  the  sheaf 
to  cattle  followed  with  hogs,  and  raising  only  a  sufficient 
quantity  of  wheat  to  supply  the  local  demand  for  flour  or 
seed.  We  cut  with  the  sickle  at  first,  and  afterwards 
with  scythe  and  cradle,  mowing  our  small  meadows  with  the 
scythe  and  gathering  the  hay  with  the  fork  and  rake. 

This  country  at  that  time  was  almost  a  wilderness,  inhabi- 
ted by  squatters  who  settled  in  the  timber  near  the  creeks 
and  large  branches,  and  cultivated  generally  a  few  acres  of  corn. 
They  beat  their  corn  in  a  mortar,  or  a  hole  in  the  ground,  or  a 
hole  in  some  solid  stump  near  their  dwellings  (made  frequently 
by  burning).  They  used  a  spring  pole  with  the  butt  end  staked 
to  the  ground,  the  center  resting  in  a  high  fork  like  an  old-fash- 
ioned well-sweep,  the  pestle  an  upright  pole  taking  the  place  of 
the  rope  and  bucket  and  having  a  pin  through  the  lower  end  to 
serve  as  a  hand  hold  for  working  up  and  down.  The  corn  in 
the  mortar  was  thus  reduced  to  meal ;  or  when  soft  enough 
was  grated.  Bear,  deer,  turkeys  and  squirrels  were  found  in 
abundance  in  their  various  haunts  as  game.  Panthers,  wolves, 
catamounts,  foxes  and  wildcats  were  abundant  enough 
to  destroy  pigs,  sheep,  geese,  and  occasionally  a  calf.  Our 
clothing  was  then  made  from  cotton,  wool  and  flax  and 
from  the  skins  of  wild  animals  fashioned  according  to  the 
ability,  industry  or  fancy  of  the  wearer.  Most  families 
lived  on  corn  bread,  hominy,  venison  and  bear  meat, 
sweetened  with  honey  found  in  trees  in  the  woods.  Very  little 
money  in  circulation  until  about  1834-6.  My  father  by  indus- 
try saved  sufficient  money  by  1831  to  build  the  house  I  now 
live  in,  probably  the  second  brick  house  built  south  of  the  Ohio 
and  Mississippi  railway,  and  east  of  the  Illinois  Central.  The 


HOUSE  — BARN  — CORN  CRIB.  97 

first  one  was  built  by  Robert  Peeples,  at  Shawneetown,  prior  to 
1825,  in  which  Gen.  Lafayette  was  entertained  on  his  last  visit 
to  the  United  States,  in  June,  1825.  In  my  boyhood  my 
father  drove  his  cattle  to  Nashville,  Tenn.,  Huntsville,  Ala., 
and  Louisville,  Ky.,  to  market,  and  slaughtered  his  hogs  at 
Shawneetown,  where  they  were  either. sold  or  packed  in  a 
flat-boat  and  marketed  to  the  planters  along  the  Mississippi 
river  and  its  lower  tributaries.  This  much  I  have  said 
concerning  the  country  and  markets. 

My  house,  as  originally  built,  was  a  two  story  brick  of 
four  rooms,  cellar  full  size  of  the  main  building,  a  one 
story  porch  in  front,  and  a  one  story  kitchen  at  north  end, 
with  porch  covering  cellar  door  and  under  which  I  dug 
and  cemented  a  small  cistern  for  washing  purposes.  I  have 
since  removed  the  old  kitchen  and  built  one  two  stories  high, 
constructing  in  front  of  it  and  the  main  building  a  two-story 
porch,  which  includes  the  cistern  and  cellar  door.  My 
barn  is  frame,  44x54  feet,  with  floor  31x34  feet,  a  part 
of  which  forms  the  gangway  through  the  barn;  the  stab- 
ling taking  up  the  remainder  of  the  ground.  Hay  mows 
above  and  on  each  side  of  the  gangway.  I  feed  all 
stock  kept  in  the  barn  from  the  floor.  My  grain  bins  are  on 
the  ground  floor  of  the  barn ;  my  corn  cribs  are  a  lean-up 
against  the  north  end,  with  an  entry  between  it  and  the 
main  barn,  floored  on  a  level  with  main  floor,  and  a  gangway 
between  grain  bins,  connecting  with  entry  in  front  of  corn 
crib  doors.  My  horses  and  mules  are  kept  generally  in  the 
barn ;  also  the  milch  cows,  which  are  good  grade  cattle,  bred 
out  of  and  from  the  best  Short  Horns  from  Ross  County,  Ohio, 
and  the  blue  grass  region  of  Kentucky.  I  do  not  keep  many, 
and  am  very  much  troubled  with  calves  from  poor  bulls  run- 
ning in  the  range.  I  use  horses  and  mules  for  work  animals  ; 
mules  the  heaviest  and  best  I  can  procure.  My  horses,  good 
roadsters,  are  a  cross  between  the  Morgan  and  English  draught 
horse,  Morgan  prevailing,  making  animals  of  fair  size  and  good 
action.  I  have  for  a  few  years  kept  a  small  flock  of  sheep, 
Southdown  crossed  with  natives  and  a  few  Merinoes,  and  am 
7 


98  HAMILTON   COUNTY,   ILLINOIS. 

now  breeding  Cotswolds.  They  are  a  success,  and  almost  indis- 
pensable as  scavengers  on  the  wheat  and  oat  fields,  to  keep 
down  weeds  and  grasses  that  spring  up  after  harvest.  I  break 
wheat  lands  as  soon  as  practicable  after  stacking  and  hay-har- 
vest, and  begin  sowing  first  of  September.  Yield  per  acre  from 
twelve  to  thirty  bushels,  according  to  quality  of  land,  time  of 
preparation,  and  kind  sown,  and  varied  by  the  season. 
Have  used  since  their  invention  reapers  and  mowers  of  many 
kinds.  Am  now  using  the  Empire  Combined,  manufactured  by 
Siberding  in  Ohio.  I  use  the  dropper  in  wheat  and  oats,  and  the 
mower  in  grass  and  clover.  For  plows  of  steel,  I  use  the 
Peoria  and  John  Deere  Clipper;  of  cast  iron,  the  Pittsburgh 
and  chilled  plow,  by  the  Gale  Manufacturing  Company,  which 
I  conceive  to  be  the  best  plow  in  use  for  Fall  breaking,  consider- 
ing lightness  of  draught  and  thorough  work. 

I  occup3r  the  farm  as  a  home  of  comfort  and  freedom  from 
restraint  and  town  annoyances,  preferring  an  equality 
in  the  country  to  mediocrity  in  the  towns.  My  orchards 
are  of  select  fruit,  but  quite  neglected,  although  fur- 
nishing abundant  fruit  for  myself  and  neighbors.  My 
hogs  are  Poland  China  crossed,  with  an  admixture  of 
the  whiter  breeds,  Chester  White  being  the  base  ;  not  raised 
with  profit,  however,  on  account  of  so-called  "  hog  cholera." 
My  bees  are  the  common  American,  and  only  a  few  hives 
kept  to  furnish  honey  for  domestic  use  ;  keep  them  in  the  Lang- 
stroth  and  common  hive.  My  vineyard  is  too  young  to  be 
profitable,  being  only  three  years  old,  but  a  good,  healthy 
growth  of  selected  varieties.  Hope  to  make  wine  and  fruit 
enough  for  my  home  use. 

The  Skillet  Fork  of  the  Little  Wabash  is  the  only  stream  of 
any  size  near  me ;  it  abounds  in  the  native  varieties  of  fish, 
which  are  taken  by  all  the  devices  known  to  fishermen. 

Butter  and  cheese  are  only  of  domestic  manufacture,  there 
being  no  creamery  in  the  county,  nor  dairy  as  understood  by 
the  public. 

In  poultry  we  have  the  old  Dunghill,  Dominick,  Buff 
Cochin,  Black  Spanish,  etc. ;  the  ordinary  gray  and  white 


CLIMATE  —  TOBACCO.  99 

goose,  the  swan  goose,  ducks  of  almost  any  grade  or  color, 
and  white,  yellow,  and  black  turkeys  ;  only  kept  on  the  farm 
as  an  incident,  and  sold  when  over-stocked. 

Our  lands  are  a  light  colored  loam,  with  yellow  or  red 
clay  sub-soil,  mostly  timbered  in  this  county ;  in  Wayne  on 
the  north  about  one-half  prairie ;  on  the  west,  Jefferson  and 
Franklin,  each  about  one-third  prairie  ;  Saline  on  the  south, 
nearly  all  timber ;  White  on  the  east,  about  one-sixth  prairie, 
generally  rolling.  In  the  north  part  of  this  county,  which  for 
a  prairie  country  is  quite  hilly,  it  is  well  adapted  to  the  produc- 
tion of  all  kinds  of  grain  or  grass,  and  is  surpassed  for  fruit- 
growing by  few  counties  in  Southern  Illinois,  the  apple,  peach, 
pear,  quince  and  plum  growing  in  perfection  and  profusion. 

Our  climate  is  quite  temperate,  but  subject  to  sudden 
changes  of  temperature,  the  country  north  to  the  lake  being 
almost  an  open  plain.  With  the  exception  of  some  bilious  fever 
in  unacclimated  persons,  sickness  is  almost  unknown.  It  is 
one  of  the  best  counties  in  Southern  Illinois  for  rearing 
and  fattening  stock ;  for  dairymen  or  any  other  farming  enter- 
prises. 

Our  inhabitants  are  a  hardy,  robust  people,  bred  from  the 
plebeian  class  of  the  Southern  States,  crossed  with  German, 
Irish,  and  Eastern  Yankees. 

The  St.  Louis  and  Southeastern  railway,  running  from  St. 
Louis  to  Evansville,  enters  the  county  in  the  northwest  cor- 
ner, the  Shawnee  branch  going  out  at  the  southeast  corner,  and 
the  Evansville  to  the  east.  Near  our  east  line  is  run  and  oper- 
ated a  branch  of  the  O.  &  M.  R.  R.,  formerly  the  Springfield 
and  Southeastern,  and  on  the  south,  near  the  line,  the  Eldorado 
and  Carbondale.  They  are  so  located  that  any  citizen  of  Hamil- 
ton County  can  reach  a  station  on  some  one  of  the  several 
railways  in  less  than  ten  miles. 

Last  year  one-half  million  pounds  of  tobacco  were  pro- 
duced in  the  county,  but  our  fine  wheat  crop  of  two  years  ago 
has  almost  stopped  tobacco  planting,  and  the  region  is  now 
converted  into  a  vast  wheat  field.  Commencing  its  general 
culture  in  the  season  of  1878,  this  county  produced  nearly 


100  CARROLL  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

one-half  million  of  bushels  in  1879,  and  it  has  now  one-third 
more  sown.  With  much  better  preparation  of  the  land,  and 
earlier  sowing,  we  confidently  expect  to  sell  one-half  million 
of  bushels  the  next  year,  in  the  early  market,  to  supply  the 
European  deficiency,  and  then  we  will  be  happy. 


SAMUEL  PRESTON, 

i 

MOUNT  CARROLL,  CARROLL  COUNTY. 

"Preston  Prairie  Settlement  " — The  "  G-rout  "  House  —  Cost  of 
Raising  Grrains — Uses  Cistern  Water  for  Horses — Sheep 
Special  Favorites — Management  of  the  Flock  —  Artificial 
Fish  Culture  —  Orchards — No  Big  Farms,  But  Big  Farm- 
ing— A  Beautiful  Country. 

The  plan  gives  a  good  idea  of  the  fish-ponds  in  connection 
with  my  buildings.  The  land  (without  the  improvements)  seen 
above  the  highway  was  originally  a  part  of  my  father's  estate. 
He  died  in  1850,  and  his  farm  passed  into  the  hands  of  stran- 
gers. My  father  and  I  came  here  in  February,  1836,  staked 
the  first  claims,  cut  the  first  timber  and  built  the  first  cabin  in 
this  (Mt.  Carroll)  township.  It  has  ever  since  been  called  the 

"PRESTON   PRAIRIE    SETTLEMENT." 

My  house  was  built  in  1851.  The  walls  are  "grout,"  made 
hollow  by  a  device  of  my  own,  with  a  new  and  I  think  a  bet- 
ter plan  of  arranging  the  boxes,  which  was  published  in  the 
Prairie  Farmer  some  time  afterwards.  But  Mr.  Wight,  who 
was  then  editor,  held  grout  houses  in  contempt,  which  he  ex- 
pressed in  the  following  language :  "  Condemn  me  to  a  log 
cabin ,  but  deliver  me  from  one  of  those  damp,  rickety,  grout 
iceries."  It  is  a  sufficient  reply  to  such  an  aspersion,  on  my 
part,  to  say  that  in  twenty-eight  years  in  my  family  averaging 
eight  persons  there  has  been  but  one  death,  that  of  my 
mother  at  the  age  of  eighty-one,  and  for  the  last  sixteen  years 
we  have  not  required  the  services  of  a  physician.  The 


FARM  AND  OUTBUILDINGS. 


101 


1GO  liods  "Long. 


Public  Koad. 


West 


REFERENCES. 


I.    Plow  field.  D. 

II.    Plow  field.  E. 

III.  Grassland.  F. 

IV.  Plow  land.  G. 
V.    Plow  land.  H. 

VI.    Timothy  Meadow.  I. 

VII.    Pasture.  J. 

VIII.    Pasture.  K. 

IX.    School  House.  L. 

X.    Pasture.  — ^          M. 

XI.    Pond  bank.  N. 

XII.    Butternut  Grove.  O. 

XIII.  Spring  head  of  Cedar  creek.  P. 

XIV.  Cedar  creek.  Q. 
XV.    Outlet  of  lower  pond.  K. 

XVI.    Chestnut  trees  25  years  old,  from  seed.  S. 

Bear  nuts  annually.  T. 

A.  Dwelling  house,  26x36.    Addition  10x31.  V. 

B.  Granary  and  corn  barn,  20x24.    b.    Scale,         W. 

4  ton.  X. 

€.    Corn  and  grain,  22x28,  and  machinery          Y. 

store  house.  Z. 


Hay  and  grain,  38x48. 

Sheep  shed,  16x48. 

Sheep  school,  16x48. 

Fish  hatching  and  creamery,  14x28. 

Hog  Pen. 

Garden. 

Island. 

Stack  yard. 

Hog  yard. 

Door  yard. 

Sheep  yard. 

Cattle  yard. 

Orchard. 

Front  entrance. 

Steps. 

Cistern  conductor. 

Cistern  conductor. 

Stone  wall. 

Outlet  of  Upper  pond. 

Cistern. 

Race. 

Upper  pond. 

Lower  pond. 


102  CARROLL  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

walls   are    seemingly    as  good    to-day  as  they  were  the  year- 
they  were  built. 

FARMING   IMPLEMENTS. 

Since  1860,  I  have  used  a  Double-Michigan  and  sub-soil 
plow  for  sod ;  for  many  years  a  steel  b£am  stiring  plow  ; 
and  for  the  past  two  years  a  three-horse  sulky  plow.  I  use  a 
section  Scotch  harrow,  and  an  Iowa  seeder  and  cultivator  for 
sowing  grain.  In  1879  I  went  back  to  the  primitive  way 
of  sowing  wheat  in  standing  corn  by  hand,  putting  it  in  with 
a  one-horse  Moline  cultivator.  I  plant  corn  with  a  Key- 
stone, having  Barnes'  check-rower  attachment.  Cultivate  corn 
with  a  two-horse  walking  plow.  For  cutting  grain  I  have  used 
one  of  Atkins'  self-raking  reapers  for  twenty-five  years,  and 
it  is  still  in  working  order.  I  use  a  McCormick  self-binder. 
For  cutting  grass  I  have  used  the  Hubbard  mower  for  sixteen 
years  ;  it  still  does  good  work.  In  stacking  hay  I  use  a  derrick 
and  a  Palmer  hay  fork.  For  the  past  seventeen  years  I  have 
done  my  threshing  with  Emery's  two-horse  thresher  and 
cleaner,  run  with  tread-power.  I  also  use  that  power  to  grind 
feed  and  saw  wood. 

I  estimate  the  cost  of  raising  grain,  delivered  in  the  crib 
and  bin,  at  $7  per  acre,  exclusive  of  the  use  of  the  land.  I 
have  raised  mostly  corn  and  oats  for  several  years,  and  sell 
about  one-third  of  the  crop.  Feed  the  rest  to  horses,  cows, 
hogs  and  sheep ;  mostly  to  sheep.  The  raising  of  winter 
wheat  here  for  the  past  five  years  has  been  a  grand  success, 
variety,  Odessa.  It  is  a  spring  wheat  also.  The  spring-sown 
is  considered  best  to  sow  in  the  Fall,  and  vice  versa.  Our  mil- 
lers are  in  love  with  it. 

OF   HORSES 

I  usually  keep  from  five  to  seven.  My  present  stock  is  the 
progeny  of  a  half  Morgan  mare  that  I  bought  fifteen  years 
ago.  She  is  now  twenty-two  years  old,  and  neither  she  nor 
her  descendants  have  ever  been  sick  a  day,  except  a  slight  at- 
tack of  the  epizootic,  which  swept  over  the  country  a  few  years 


SHEEP  — FISH    CULTURE.  103 

ago.     They  are  very  spirited,  seldom  need  urging,  and  I  attrib- 
ute their  good  health  in  part  to  using  cistern  water. 

SHEEP. 

Of  all  farm  stock,  sheep  are  my  special  favorites.  Not 
only  for  profit  for  the  least  labor  bestowed  upon  them,  but  for 
their  gentle  and  quiet  ways.  I  began  about  twenty-five 
years  ago  with  thirty  Merino  ewes,  brought  here  from  Ohio. 
Improved  the  fineness  of  the  wool  by  purchasing  full  blooded 
rams  of  French,  Spanish  and  American  Merinoes,  and  in- 
creased my  flock  to  about  600.  But  the  war  creating  a  demand 
for  coarser  wools,  and  Chicago  becoming  a  mutton  market,  I 
bred  my  Merinoes  to  coarse-wool  bucks,  and  now  have  a  flock 
of  a  yearly  average  of  about  175,  averaging  ten  and  one-half 
pounds  of  wool,  and  weighing  at  the  beginning  of  the 
feeding  season,  exclusive  of  lambs,  about  150  pounds  average. 
I  feed  in  the  open  air,  in  racks  sixteen  feet  long,  one  foot  wide, 
and  three  feet  high,  having  a  tight  plank  bottom,  raised  four 
inches  from  the  ground,  and  two  boards  on  each  side  and  end, 
eight  inches  apart.  Nail  to  a  2x4  post  at  each  corner  and 
at  the  middle.  A  2x4  two  feet  long  is  nailed  at  the  bottom 
of  each  pair  of  posts,  upon  which  rests  the  bottom  plank  nailed 
fast  to  keep  the  box  from  being  turned  over  by  the  wind.  In  a 
snow  or  rain  storm,  turn  the  rack  bottom  side  up,  and  put  the 
sheep  under  cover. 

ARTIFICIAL    FISH   CULTURE. 

How  I  made  my  ponds  :  The  embankment  at  the  lower 
end  of  the  pond  is  made  by  putting  in  a  grout  wall  of  water-lime, 
sand,  gravel  and  stone.  I  dug  a  trench  as  deep  as  I  could 
conveniently  and  wide  enough  for  a  man  to  work  in.  I  then 
drove  hard-wood  two  inch  plank  into  it  a  depth  of  three  feet 
and  filled  it  with  grout  to  the  surface.  I  then  ran  it  up 
as  I  would  in  making  a  grout  wall  for  a  building  to  within  two 
feet  of  as  high  as  I  wanted  the  embankment.  Laid  down 
tile  to  let  the  water  run  through  while  making  the  wall 
and  embankment.  The  embankment  is  thirty  feet  wide  at 
the  base,  ten  feet  high,  and  ten  feet  wide  at  the  top.  The 


104  CARROLL  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

grout  is  to  prevent  muskrats  and  crawfish  from  digging 
through  the  bank.  When  the  pond  was  ready  to  fill,  I  closed 
the  outlet  through  the  tile  with  a  few  bushels  of  grout.  The 
outlet  from  the  pond  is  made  by  imbedding  a  large  flat  rock  in 
water-lime  mortar,  its  front  edge  resting  upon  the  grout  wall, 
with  other  bed  stones  extending  through  and  over  the  embank- 
ment ;  the  side  walls  are  then  built  of  stone  resting  on  these 
bed  rock,  a  cap  stone  is  laid  across  and  the  whole  covered 
with  earth.  A  wooden  frame  is  made  like  the  inverted  letter  n, 
bedded  partly  into  the  side  walls.  A  groove  is  made  on  the  inside 
of  the  upright  pieces,  to  receive  the  screen  to  prevent  the  fish 
from  escaping.  The  water  in  the  lower  pond  is  from  one  to 
eight  feet  deep.  Several  thousand  of  California  salmon,  from 
one  to  two  years  old,  are  now  in  the  pond,  and  are  doing  well. 
There  is  also  a  smaller  pond  shown  in  the. plan,  between  the 
lower  pond  and  the  hatchery,  where  the  young  salmon  are 
kept  until  six  months  old.  The  water  in  this  pond  is  about 
three  feet  deep.  I  have  stocked  this  pond  with  brook  trout. 
My  hatchery,  in  the  basement  of  the  building,  is  capable  of 
hatching  200,000  fish  at  a  time.  It  is  also  used  for  a  creamery 
in  the  Summer.  Temperature  of  water,  50°  at  all  times.  The 
upper  room  is  of  grout,  resting  upon  a  stone  basement,  and  is 
used  for  a  tool  house  and  repair  shop.  Several  hundred  tons 
of  ice  were  taken  from  the  large  pond  last  Winter,  by  farm- 
ers and  others  from  several  miles  around. 

MY  EXPERIENCE  WITH    ORCHARDS. 

In  1843  I  set  out  my  first  orchard  of  about  fifty  trees. 
The  ground  had  a  southern  slope.  The  trees  were  seedlings, 
and  set  two  rods  apart  each  way.  In  1846  I  began  an- 
other orchard  (shown  in  plat)  on  ground  with  a  northern 
slope,  putting  them  also  two  rods  apart.  In  this  orchard  I 
had,  up  to  1856,  about  100  trees.  The  borers  were  quite 
troublesome  in  both  orchards,  but  the  most  so  in  the  orchard 
with  a  southern  exposure.  Our  prevailing  winds  are  from  the 
southwest,  and  as  the  orchards  had  no  wind-breaks,  the  trees, 
as  they  grew,  had  a  leaning  to  the  northeast;  just  the  right 
position  for  the  trunks  to  get  sun-scald.  The  Winter  of  1856- 


ORCHARDS.  105 

57,  was  a  severe  one,  extending  pretty  well  into  the  Spring 
months,  destroying  the  larger  part  of  the  orchards  in  the  coun- 
try. My  first  orchard  had  not  a  healthy  tree  left  (not  one  now 
living),  and  of  my  second  orchard  the  larger  part  were  killed. 
In  1859  I  re-set  my  second  orchard,  planting  my  trees  one 
rod  apart  each  way  and  leaning  them  to  the  southeast.  I  planted 
an  osage  hedge  around  the  orchard,  and  set  Lombardy  poplars 
on  the  west  side  as  being  the  quickest  growing  trees  to  form  a 
wind-break.  I  now  have  an  orchard  of  about  400  trees,  large 
and  healthy,  and  never  lack  a  good  supply  of  apples  and  some 
to  sell.  My  time  for  pruning  is  the  month  of  August ;  never 
in  Winter  or  Spring.  As  the  limbs  begin  to  show  signs  of  de- 
cay by  bending,  I  cut  them  off,  and  take  out,  also,  the  weaker 
trees.  My  trees  are  so  dense  that  but  little  vegetation  grows 
under  them,  and  the  atmosphere  therein  is  so  cool  and  humid 
as  to  be  unfavorable  to  the  propagation  of  noxious  insects.  I 
have  about  half  a  mile  of  osage  hedge  on  the  farm,  and  about 
one  mile  of  rail  fence,  some  of  which  has  been  in  use  forty 
years  and  is  yet  sound.  As  fast  as  it  decays  I  replace  the 
fence  with  three  boards  and  two  barb  wires.  I  have  about  500 
red  cedar  posts  on  the  farm.  Am  now  re-setting  some  that 
have  been  in  the  ground  for  thirty-three  years,  and  find  them 
as  sound  as  ever. 

CONCLUSION. 

Our  settlement  is  not  noted  for  big  farms,  but  for  big  farm- 
ing. I  think  we  are  the  peers  of  any  in  the  State.  We  are  on 
the  upper  edge  of  the  prairie  belt,  and  one  mile  north  of  my 
farm  begins  the  lead  ore  regions,  extending  north  several 
miles  above  Galena.  Cedar  creek  (so  named  from  the  many 
trees  of  red  cedar  that  once  adorned  its  banks)  soon  after 
leaving  my  farm  enters  a  deep  gorge,  with  limestone  ledges 
on  either  side  rising  perpendicularly  about  forty  or  fifty  feet, 
and  runs  a  distance  of  three  miles  to  its  confluence  with  Car- 
roll creek.  This  creek,  also,  has  similar  and  more  magnificent 
scenery  in  its  longer  and  deeper  gorges,  and  in  addition  to 
cedar,  double  rows  of  towering  pines  adorn  and  crown  its 
brink  for  several  miles. 


106  PULASKI   COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 


GEORGE  W.  ENDICOTT, 

VILLA   RIDGE,    PULASKI   COUNTY. 

Apple  Orchard — Trees  Thoroughly  Cultivated  Five  or  Six 
Years — Pear  Orchard  Planted  on  Level  G-round  the 
Best — Crop  Sure  and  Profitable — The  Vineyard — 
The  Main  Vine  Should  Grow  Free — Cultivate  Thorough 
but  Shallow —  Whitewash  a  Great  Help  to  the  Vines — Straw- 
berries— Plants  Set  in  Squares —  Worked  by  Horse  Power — 
Peach  Orchard — Fruit  Gathered  by  Hand — Sweet  Potatoes — 
Farm  Implements — Result — Fair  Profit  on  an  Improving 
Property. 

MONOLOA   FRUIT    FARM 

is  situated  about  three  and  one-half  miles  from  Villa  Ridge 
on  a  high  tract  of  land  called  Dutch  Ridge,  extending 
northeasterly  toward  the  Ohio  river.  The  farm  contains  for- 
ty-eight acres,  mostly  rolling.  Forty  acres  are  cleared  and 
planted  to  fruit.  The  remaining  eight  acres  have  been  cleared 
of  the  under  brush  and  sown  to  orchard  and  blue  grass,  and 
used  as  a  park.  The  house  is  a  large,  square,  two-story,  hip- 
roofed  building,  with  large  and  well  regulated  cellar.  The 
barn  is  one  of  the  cottage  pattern,  hip-roofed,  with  a  large 
ventilator.  The  other  outbuildings  are  commodious.  Along 
the  county  road  are  planted  pecan  trees  for  shade.  The  cleared 
land  is  planted  as  follows  : 

Six  acres  in  apple  trees, 

Five  acres  in  standard  pear  trees, 

Five  and  one-half  acres  in  Ives'  seedling  grape  vines, 

Three  acres  in  peach  trees, 

Five  acres  in  strawberries, 

Five  acres  in  sweet  potatoes, 

Four  acres  in  meadow. 


MONOLOA  FRUIT   FARM. 


107 


96  Rods 
S 

1  1  —  Streets.  2 —  House  grounds,  with  native  forest.  3  —  Barn  lots, 
with  native  forest.  4 — Park,  with  native  forest.  5  5 — Pear  orchards.  6  6 — 
Vineyards  7 — Strawberries.  8 — Peach  orchards.  9 — Apple  orchards.  10 — 
Vegetables.  11 — Meadow.  12 — Kitchen  garden.  13 — Pastures,  set  all  around 
with  chestnut  trees. 


108  PULASKI   COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

The  remainder  is  in  pasture  and  house  grounds,  except  the 
kitchen  garden. 

THE   APPLE   ORCHARD 

contains  four  hundred  well-shaped  trees,  all  in  bearing,  and  of 
Lawver,  Rome  Beauty,  Ben  Davis,  Buckingham,  Smith  Cider, 
King  of  Tompkins  County,  May  of  Myers,  Early  Harvest,  Red 
June  and  Limbertwig  varieties. 

The  trees  are  from  seven  to  ten  years  old,  all  well  shaped, 
headed  low  and  pruned  but  very  little. 

Among  the  good  keepers  I  place  the  Lawver  and  Limber- 
twig  first.  The  other  varieties  in  my  orchard  ripen  too  soon  in 
the  season. 

The  trees  are  thoroughly  cultivated  for  five  or  six  years, 
when  the  ground  is  sown  to  clover  and  let  run.  I  have  grown 
apples  since  my  farm  was  opened,  and  believe  them  to  be  an 
unprofitable  crop  in  this  region. 

THE    PEAB    ORCHARD 

contains  seven  hundred  trees,  all  standards  and  mostly  Bart- 
letts ;  only  about  one  hundred  are  old  enough  to  bear.  In  the 
old  orchard  I  have  a  few  Howells,  Clapp's  Favorite,  Sickle, 
Beurre  de  Anjou,  Flemish  Beauty,  Bloodgood  and  Belle  Lucra- 
tive. 

Fruit  growers  generally  wish  to  plant  a  pear  orchard  on 
a  northern  slope,  but  I  prefer  level  ground  for  all  fruit  trees, 
planting  none  over  the  brow  of  a  hill.  My  trees  are  planted 
in  rows  twelve  by  twenty  feet,  rows  running  north  and  south. 
In.  planting  this  way  the  object  is  to  make  each  tree  shade 
the  trunk  of  the  tree  before  it  in  the  row.  The  trees  are 
planted  at  one  year  from  the  seeding  and  grafted  and  grown 
where  they  are  to  stand  permanently.  The  cultivation  of  the 
tree  is  most  thorough  for  four  or  five  years,  when  the  ground 
is  sown  to  clover  and  mowed  twice  each  year,  the  growth  being 
carefully  placed  under  and  close  to  the  trunks  of  the  trees, 
as  a  mulch.  Nothing  in  the  shape  of  hay  is  removed  from  the 
land.  The  earth  around  the  trees  is  very  rich  and  mellow. 
The  trees  are  somewhat  conical  in  shape,  but  they  are  never 


THE   VINEYARD.  109 

pruned  in  root  or  branch.  They  do  not  look  as  well  as  trees 
thoroughly  trimmed  and  pruned,  but  therein  lies  the  success  of 
pear  growing  in  this  region.  In  allowing  them  to  branch 
from  the  ground  the  trees  become  hardy  and  healthy,  and  the 
blight  never  attacks  them.  Among  the  varieties  of  profitable 
pears  for  this  section  are  placed  the  Bartlett,  Howells,  Clapp's 
Favorite,  Sickle  and  Bloodgood.  The  crop  is  one  of  the  surest 
and  most  profitable  of  the  tree  fruits. 

THE   VINEYARD, 

next  to  the  pear  orchard,  I  place  as  the  most  profitable.  The 
vineyard  contains  3,500  vines,  nearly  all  of  the  Ives  seedling, 
of  which  about  one-half  are  in  bearing.  The  plants  are  placed 
8x8  and  trained  to  a  single  stake,  those  that  are  now  in  bear- 
ing. I  have  found  by  experience  that  the  main  vine  should 
grow  free,  and  not  wound  around  a  stake,  as  at  every  turn 
around  the  stake  I  find  the  harbor  of  the  insects  and  bugs  that 
prey  upon  the  sap  of  the  vine.  More  are  found  in  these  crevices 
than  under  the  bark  of  the  vine.  The  fruit  of  the  vines  that 
are  attached  to  the  stakes  is  grown  at  the  spurs,  which  are 
allowed  to  swing  loose.  My  reason  for  growing  grapes  in  this 
way  is  that  in  the  ordinary  way  the  foliage  becomes  so  dense  and 
heavy  as  not  to  allow  a  current  of  air  to  pass  through  the  vine, 
which  in  my  opinion  is  the  cause  of  the  grape  rot.  The  vines 
are  pruned  as  early  as  the  weather  will  permit.  When  the  frost 
is  out  of  the  ground  the  cultivation  begins,  and  is  kept  up 
until  the  fruit  begins  to  ripen.  The  cultivation  is  most  thor- 
ough but  shallow.  In  most  vineyards  the  vines  are  set  seven 
by  nine  feet,  but  as  no  ground  is  gained  and  the  shape  is  irregu- 
lar besides,  I  have  set  all  my  vines  eight  by  eight.  My 
manner  of  planting  is  to  take  a  double  plow  with  team  and 
throw  two  furrows,  one  each  way,  then  plant  in  the  bottom, 
placing  the  main  roots  in  the  direction  you  wish  to  cultivate 
the  deepest,  and  if  in  the  Spring  partially  covering  the  plant ; 
but  if  in  the  Fall,  after  placing  the  roots  in  proper  shape,  I 
take  a  large  double  plow  and  team,  and  throw  two  furrows 
entirely  over  the  young  vines,  covering  them  for  the  Winter. 


HO  PULABKI   COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

In  early  Spring  I  am  careful  when  the  dirt  is  taken  away  not 
to  disturb  any  of  the  little  buds.  The  young  vines  are  after- 
wards trained  to  a  single  wire  trellis,  placed  on  the  tops  of  the 
stakesbetween  the  vines,  so  that  the  fruit  will  be  grown  on  the 
spurs,which  are  trained  horizontally  on  the  wire  and  not  fastened 
to  the  stake.  In  training  the  vine  in  this  way  there  is  noplace 
for  the  insects  to  harbor,  and  then  the  rough  bark  of  the  vine 
can  easily  be  stripped  off,  and  the  main  vine  whitewashed, 
which  is  a  great  help  to  it.  This  wire  trellis  is  placed  high  enough 
to  admit  of  plenty  of  room  for  the  cultivation,  which  is  done  by 
mules.  In  the  pinching-back  season  great  care  is  taken  to 
preserve  the  most  healthy  of  the  young  shoots,  and  in  thin- 
ning care  is  taken  to  leave  the  fruit  clusters  distributed  as 
evenly  as  possible  on  the  entire  vine.  In  thinning  I  pull  off 
one-third  of  the  clusters,  using  the  hand  instead  of  the 
scissors.  The  rot  has  not  been  bad  in  my  vineyard  for  the  last 
four  years.  The  grape  crop  is  surest  of  all  fruit  crops,  and 
always  finds  a  ready  market  at  good  prices. 

STRAWBERRIES. 

About  five  acres  come  into  bearing  every  year.  In  plant- 
ing the  ground  is  thoroughly  plowed  with  a  large  double  plow 
and  team  and  harrowed  well  in  the  Fall.  In  the  Spring  the 
ground  is  well  mellowed  with  a  heavy  harrow  and  leveled. 
Then  it  is  checked  off  three  feet  each  way  (either  with  a 
wheelbarrow  made  for  the  purpose  or  a  log  chain)  and  two 
good  and  healthy  plants  set  at  each  cross.  A  few  days  are  al- 
lowed for  the  plants  to  take  root,  when  the  cultivation  begins. 
It  is  kept  up  once  a  week  until  about  the  middle  of  August, 
when  they  are  allowed  to  cover  the  ground  with  young  plants. 
At  first  the  plants  are  cultivated  both  ways,  but  soon  the  run- 
ners are  in  the  way,  when  they  are  turned  in  the  direction  in 
which  the  row  should  be  formed  and  worked  only  one  way. 
The  work  is  mostly  done  by  horse  power.  One  or  two  good 
hoeings  is  sufficient  where  the  harrow  or  cultivator  is  used  on 
the  ground  once  or  twice  a  week.  Before  the  work  ceases, 
and  after  a  solid  matted  row  is  formed,  the  runners  are  kept 


STRAWBERRIES  —  PEACH   ORCHARD.  HI 

cut  off  by  the  rolling  coulter  placed  on  the  side  of  the  cultiva- 
tor. By  putting  the  plants  in  squares  the  work  can  be  done 
mostly  by  horse  power,  thereby  reducing  the  cost  of  labor,  and 
it  is  better  than  the  old  method  of  hoeing  all  the  time,  as  too 
many  plants  are  injured  with  the  hoe.  In  the  different  straw- 
berry beds  I  find  the  Charles  Downing,  Wilson,  Crescent  Seed- 
ling, Monarch  of  the  West,  and  the  Endicott  Seedling  No.  2,  a 
very  large,  juicy  berry,  of  which  I  am  the  originator.  In  my 
experimental  bed  I  have  a  dozen  different  varieties,  of  which  a 
seedling  found  in  the  northern  part  of  this  State  by  A.  B. 
Robinson  promises  to  be  one  of  the  favorites. 

The  crop  is  generally  good.  The  fruit  is  sold  in  Chicago 
and  the  Northwest. 

THE  PEACH    ORCHARD 

contains  350  trees  just  coming  into  bearing.  The  trees  are  all 
healthy.  There  being  no  peach  crop  this  year  the  trees  were 
pruned  back  very  close,  only  leaving  the  short  stubs 
of  the  main  branches,  which  at  present  make  a  fine  appear- 
ance, the  limbs  having  made  a  rapid  growth  after  the  cutting. 
The  curculio  is  watched  very  closely,  the  trees  being  bugged 
every  morning,  and  the  insects  that  are  caught  are  at  once  de- 
stroyed. The  varieties  are  Amsdell's  June,  Hale's  Early,  Pick- 
ett's  Late,  Early  Crawford," of  the  larger  proportion,  with  sev- 
eral other  kinds  of  less  importance.  The  fruit  is  gathered  by 
hand,  as  is  all  the  product  of  the  place,  and  great  care  is  taken 
to  preserve  none  but  the  perfect  fruit. 

SWEET   POTATOES. 

This  crop  is  raised  every  year  in  the  peach  orchard, 
mainly  for  the  cultivation  of  the  young  trees.  I  think  there 
is  no  vegetable  crop  equal  to  the  sweet  potato  for  thoroughly 
cultivating  the  soil,  as  it  requires  frequent  working,  shallow 
and  not  deep  ;  and  then  in  the  hot  season  of  August  the  ground 
is  shaded  by  the  vines,  which  keeps  it  moist  and  cool. 
The  plants  are  set  in  hills  2£  feet  each  way,  one  plant  being 
set  in  each  hill.  The  planting  season  is  from  the  first  of  May 
to  the  fifteenth  of  June.  The  cultivation  is  done  by  horse 


112  PULASKI   COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

power,  with  exception  of  one  good  hoeing.  They  are  dug  be- 
fore frost  and  stored  in  the  sweet  potato  house,  and  marketed 
in  Chicago  during  the  Winter  months.  The  average  yield  is 
150  bushels  to  the  acre,  with  an  average  of  $1.00  per  bushel 
net  profit.  The  crop  is  a  profitable  one  and  sure,  as  they  re- 
quire dry  weather,  which  we  generally  have  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  Summer. 

The  meadows  and  pastures  furnish  all  the  feed  for 
the  stock  kept  on  the  farm,  except  the  grain  which  is 
bought  in  the  Fall  of  the  year.  The  stock  consists  of  one  span 
of  good  working  mules,  one  carriage  horse,  two  cows  and  five 
or  six  pigs. 

The  farm  implements  are  the  best  of  their  kind,  but  there 
is  no  expensive  machinery  used,  as  there  is  no  need  of  it.  All 
the  tools,  implements  and  stock  are  provided  with  good  shelter. 
Twelve  years  ago  this  place  was  a  dense  forest.  Since  that 
time  I  have  cleared  it  of  nearly  all  the  stumps. 

The  farm  is  well  fenced  with  rails,  with  the  exception 
of  the  fence  along  the  county  road,  which  is  board.  Complete 
accounts  are  kept  of  all  expenditures  and  receipts,  the  labor 
put  upon  every  crop  and  the  income  from  the  same. 

Since  I  bought  this  place  it  has  paid  for  all  the  improve- 
ments put  upon  it,  and  for  the  last.three  years  it  has  paid  a  net 
income  of  10  per  cent,  of  $10.000,  after  the  taxes  and  all  other 
necessary  expenses  have  been  paid. 

This  is  a  fair  profit  on  indestructible  property  which  is 
all  the  time  improving. 


THE  PINES  STOCK-FARM.  H3 


SAMUEL  DYSART, 

FRANKLIN  GROVE,   LEE    COUNTY. 

Mole  Drains  Not  Durable — Forestry — Soil  and  Grasses — Mixed 
Husbandry — Sowing  Salt  on  Wheat  Lands  Highly  Recom- 
mended— Hotation  of  Crops — Manner  of  Seeding  Grass 
Lands — Gray  Willow  Hedges — Orchards — Home — Live  Stock 
— High  Feeding. 

THE  PINES   STOCK-FARM. 

I  was  born  and  brought  up  in  Huntingdon  County,  Penn- 
sylvania. My  father  was  a  farmer,  who  visited  this  country  in 
1848  and  entered  a  large  tract  of  government  land,  of  which 
I  was  assigned  320  acres  as  my  portion  on  which  to  build  up 
my  future  home  by  my  own  industry.  In  March,  1855,  then 
in  my  21st  year,  I  located  on  my  present  farm,  which  at  that 
time  was  open  prairie,  without  any  improvement  further  than 
a  comfortable  dwelling  house,  and  GO  acres  of  breaking  which 
had  been  done  the  previous  year.  A  few  years  later  I  bought 
the  west  half  of  the  southeast  quarter  of  section  14,  as  shown 
on  the  plat,  which  made  400  acres,  as  the  farm  is  at  the  pre- 
sent time.  The  land  is  moderately  rolling,  with  sufficient  ele- 
vation to  give  good  drainage.  The  sloughs  marked  on  the 
plat,  when  I  first  located  on  the  farm  were  boggy,  and  had  water 
in  them  most  of  the  year,  but  by  the  use  of  the  mole  ditcher 
and  the  cultivation  of  the  adjacent  land  they  became  dry,  and 
now  they  are  all  tillable  or  good  pasture  land.  The  large 
slough  passing  through  the  eastern  side  of  the  farm  has  a  fall 
of  over  20  feet  in  the  mile.  Up  to  the  present  time  I  have 
depended  on  the  mole  drains  and  open  ditches,  but  the  former 
are  not  durable  on  account  of  crawfish  filling  them,  and  the 

8 


114  LEE   COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

latter  are  inconvenient  in  tillage.  During  the  next  few  years 
it  is  my  intention  to  put 

TILE  DRAINS   IN  ALL  THE  NATURAL  WATER  COUKSES 

and  low  land.  With  the  elevation  of  the  farm  every  square 
foot  of  land  in  the  tract  can  be  made  productive  for  any  kind 
of  crop.  The  soil  is  the  rich  loam  common  on  our  prairies,  un- 
derlaid with  a  porous  clay  from  ten  to  twelve  feet  thick,  mixed 
in  the  lower  strata  with  gravel  stones  of  various  sizes.  Below 
this  is  a  blue  clay,  which  varies  in  thickness  from  four  to  eight 
feet.  This  rests  on  a  bed  of  gravel,  which  is  filled  with  water 
that  rises  in  wells  from  four  to  six  feet  and  is  inexhaustible. 
There  is  no  hard  pan  apparent  in  the  formation,  and  no  rock  is 
reached  above  the  gravel  mentioned.  Very  few  boulders  have 
been  found  near  the  surface.  Any  where  on  the  farm,  at  or  near 
twenty  feet  deep,  an  abundant  supply  of  good  cold  water  can 
be  had,  which  is  brought  to  the  surface  by  wind  power  when 
wanted. 

FORESTRY. 

Realizing  the  value  of  protection  from  the  winds  of  the  open 
prairie,  the  planting  of  trees  and  groves  received  my  early  at- 
tention. In  addition  to  planting  an  orchard  of  the  hardiest 
varieties  of  fruit  trees,  I  planted  around  my  dwelling  hun- 
dreds of  different  varieties  of  evergreen  trees — but  mostly  the 
American  white  pine.  These  have  now  grown  to  the  size  of 
from  twelve  to  sixteen  inches  in  diameter,  and  besides  being 
attractive  to  the  eye  are  a  perfect  wind  brake.  A  grove  of 
five  acres  of  black  locust  was  planted,  which  grew  to  be  hand- 
some young  trees,  but  were  all  destroyed  by  the  borer. 
Thousands  of  poplars  are  planted  in  groves,  but  they  too 
have  nearly  all  been  destroyed  by  the  same  insect.  The  gray 
willow  has  proven  to  be  the  most  hardy  and  rapid  grower  of 
that  class  of  trees  I  have  planted.  Soft  maple  and  ash  have  also 
done  well.  At  present  there  are  groves  and  shelter  belts  in 
different  parts  of  the  farm,  and  I  have  reaped  great  benefit  by 
the  protection  of  crops  from  the  winds  of  Winter  and  storms 
of  Summer.  My  stock  do  not  suffer  from  the  cold  of  Winter 


SUBDIVISION  OF  FARM. 


116 


Highway. 


116  LEE  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

when  outdoors,  and  the  winds  do  not  penetrate  the  buildings 
like  those  exposed  to  the  force  of  the  current.  The  benefit  of 
shade  in  pastures  during  the  heat  of  Summer  for  stock  is  an 
important  item  in  the  profit  thereof,  and  one  which  is  over- 
looked by  many  farmers  of  our  country. 

SOIL. 

The  natural  resources  of  the  land  in  this  section  of  country 
are  favorable  to  any  special  branch  of  farming..  The  rich 
surface  soil  and  the  underlying  porous  subsoil  combine 
the  essential  qualities  for  luxuriant  vegetation,  and  all  kinds 
of  cereal  crops,  with  proper  cultivation,  produce  a  large  yield. 
Of  tha  grasses,  clover  and  timothy  make  a  heavy  growth,  pro- 
ducing abundant  crops  of  hay,  and  usually  a  good  yield  of 
seed  when  grown  for  that  purpose.  It  also  stands  a  drouth 
well,  which  makes  it  favorable  for  pasture  purposes.  When 
the  country  was  first  settled,  June  grass  was  not  found  here, 
but  in  a  few  years  afterwards  it  made  its  appearance  along  the 
roads  or  wherever  the  prairie  sod  was  destroyed.  It  rapidly 
increased,  until  of  late  years  our  pastures,  when  not  frequently 
broken  and  cultivated,  soon  become  thickly  sodded  and 
other  grasses  disappear.  The  effect  of  the  introduction  of  this 
species  of  grass  on  the  soil  has  been  favorable,  giving  it 
more  body  and  holding  the  moisture  to  the  surface  longer  dur- 
ing the  droughts  of  Summer.  When  well  turned  under  by 
the  plow,  it  will  produce  a  heavier  crop  of  corn  than  either 
clover  or  timothy  sod,  and  small  grain  produces  well  as  a  fol- 
lowing crop. 

I  HAVE  FOLLOWED  MIXED  HUSBANDRY 

since  the  beginning  of  the  farm.  The  growing  of  grains 
and  the  raising  of  stock  have  been  kept  on  such  ratio  to  each 
other  that  a  great  portion  of  all  grains  raised  have  been  fed  on 
the  farm,  and  no  hay  or  coarse  feed  has  ever  been  sold.  For 
a  number  of  years  after  breaking  the  prairie  sod,  but  little 
attention  was  paid  to  the  rotation  of  crops.  All  produced  well 
in  succession  for  years.  The  custom  followed  by  most  of  the 
first  settlers  of  the  country  of  burning  the  straw  on  the  farm, 


SALT  ON  CROPS.  117 

to  get  it  out  of  the  way,  was  not  followed.  That  class  of 
farmers  held  with  derision  the  idea  that  it  would  over  be  neces- 
sary to  manure  what  they  termed  an  inexhaustible  soil.  My 
idea,  which  time  has  proved  correct,  was  that  the  rich  surface 
soil  formed  by  decaying  of  grass  for  ages  would  become  non- 
productive by  cultivation  without  rest  or  manure, — therefore 
from  the  first  all  offal  was  returned  to  the  land  as  fast  as  pos- 
sible. From  the  beginning  it  gave  satisfactory  results  on 
the  new  land,  apparently  domesticating  the  soil  to  the  vari- 
ous crops.  In  a  few  years  adjoining  land  fell  off  a  large  per 
cent,  in  the  amount  of  production,  while  I  had  the  satisfac- 
tion of  realizing  that  mine  retained  nearly  the  original  fertility. 
The  exhaustion  of  the  soil  in  one  direction  by  the  continuous 
cultivation,  without  rest  or  refreshment,  was  first  seriously  felt 
in  the  failure  of  the  wheat  crop.  The  looseness  of  the  new 
soil  was  unfavorable  to  the  wintering  of  Winter  wheat,  which 
was  abandoned  entirely  for  Spring  wheat,  but  this  in  a  few 
years  began  to  decline  in  yield  and  quality  until  the  crop  was 
generally  considered  an  unprofitable  one,  and  was  nearly 
abandoned.  On  land  that  was  manured  and  cared  for  in  the  usual 
manner,  it  failed  to  ripen  as  in  former  years.  This  led  me  to 
the  conviction  that  an  element  in  the  soil  had  been  exhausted, 
which  rest  and  barnyard  manure  only  partially  restored.  By 
the  experiment  of  our  best  farmers,  it  was  found  that 

SALT  SOWN  BROADCAST  ON  THE  YOUNG  PLANT 

restored  the  lost  qualities  and  brought  the  soil  near  its  former 
standard.  The  effect  produced  is  that  wheat  grows  firmer  in  the 
straw,  is  free  from  the  watery  substance  that  produces  rust, 
and  that  it  ripens  slowly  as  in  former  years,  thus  giving  the 
berry  time  to  mature.  Parasites  attack  sickly  plants  as  well 
as  animals,  and  it  has  been  demonstrated  fully  that  chintz  bugs 
do  not  attack  wheat  on  which  salt  has  been  sown,  as  soon  or 
as  badly  as  that  which  is  grown  without  it.  During  the  past 
few  years,  I  have  not  omitted  to  sow  on  my  wheat  from  a  bushel 
and  a  half  to  two  bushels  of  fine  clean  salt  per  acre,  and  since 
following  that  rule  I  have  not  failed  to  raise  from  eighteen  to 


LEE  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

thirty  bushels  of  good  marketable  wheat  to  the  acre,  and  I 
have  as  yet  discovered  no  bad  effect  from  the  use  of  salt  on  the 
growing  of  other  crops.  If  I  were  to  venture  an  opinion  on 
the  result,  I  would  say  that  all  crops  are  benefited  by  the 
use  of  salt.  By  cultivation,  seeding  to  grass  and  pasturing,  the 
black  prairie  loam  of  the  new  country  is  fast  changing  into  a 
firmer  soil  on  the  surface,  and  either  the  mold  is  wasting 
from  the  Surface,  or  the  clay  is  coming  up  from  below,  chang- 
ing the  former  into  the  latter,  which  is  annually  reducing  the 
depth  of  the  dark-colored  soil.  Recently  Winter  wheat  has 
stood  the  frosts  of  Winter,  and  produced  good  crops  in  this 
section  of  country.  The  top  soil  is  losing  its  greasy 
nature  when  wet,  and  does  not  run  together  in  Winter 
like  when  the  country  was  new.  From  the  visible  change 
going  on  we  are  led  to  believe  that  Winter  wheat  will 
become  one  of  the  staple  crops,  and  a  change  in  the  manner  of 
cultivating  the  soil  will  take  place.  Deeper  tillage  will  be 
required,  and  more  frequent  seeding  of  the  soil  to  grass  in 
order  to  keep  it  from  growing  gristly  and  hard. 

ROTATION   OF    CROPS. 

As  the  plat  shows,  my  farm  is  subdivided  into  fields  of 
forty  acres  and  less.  The  system  of  rotation  of  crops  now  fol- 
lowed as  a  rule  is,  on  breaking  from  a  sod  to  take  two  crops  of 
corn  in  succession.  The  cultivation  of  these  two  crops  effec- 
tually kills  the  sod.  Then  a  crop  of  oats  is  raised,  the  stubble 
of  which  is  given  a  coat  of  barnyard  manure  and  turned  under 
in  the  Fall.  The  next  year  a  wheat  crop  follows,  and  the  land 
seeded  down  to  clover  and  timothy  mixed.  My  manner  of 
seeding  is  as  follows :  If  Spring  wheat  has  been  sown  the 
ground  is  dragged,  then  seeded,  and  again  dragged.  I  mix  the 
seeds  in  equal  parts  and  sow  ten  quarts  to  the  acre.  In  twenty 
successive  years  of  seeding  in  this  manner  I  have  never  failed 
to  secure  a  good  set  of  grass,  which  prevented  weeds  from 
springing  up  the  first  year  as  is  usually  the  case  with  thin 
sowing.  In  this  way  my  land  rests  in  grass  for  meadow  or 
pasture  one-third  of  the  time  and  it  retains  its  fertility  well. 


HEDGES  — APPLE  ORCHARD.  119 

4 

HEDGES. 

Osage  hedge  is  used  mostly  for  division  fences  and  is 
kept  cut  back  to  four  feet  in  hight.  The  pruning  is  done  in 
early  Spring  or  in  September ;  midsummer  trimming  having 
the  effect  of  killing  out  the  stocks  and  spoiling  the  hedge.  On 
low  land  and  along  the  highway  I  have  gray  willow  hedges, 
which  I  have  made  very  effective  against  stock  in  the  follow- 
ing manner :  When  sufficient  size  to  form  a  strong  stub  they 
are  cut  off  three  and  a  half  feet  from  the  ground  and  a  single 
barb  wire  is  stretched  along  the  row  fastened  every  few 
feet  by  staples  into  the  tops  of  the  stubs.  The  willow  sprouts 
out  and  grows  rapidly  over  and  no  beast  will  push  through 
it.  Once  in  six  or  eight  years  the  willows  may  be  cut  down 
to  the  wire  and  furnish  a  large  amount  of  wood.  Objection  is 
found  against  the  willow  for  a  fence  on  account  of  the  shade, 
but  my  experience  is  that  the  protection  to  the  crops  within 
the  enclosure  from  high  winds  more  than  compensates  for 
the  damage,  without  taking  into  consideration  the  value  of  the 
wood.  The  willow  absorbs  a  great  amount  of  water  and  thus 
benefits  low  land,  and  the  roots  do  not  exhaust  the  adjoining 
soil  more  than  the  osage. 

By  my  system  of  changing  crops  I  have  a  large  amount 
of  permanent  pasture,  which  is  much  improved  by  a  top  dress- 
ing of  manure  once  in  three  or  four  years.  Top  dressing  of 
meadow,  however,  injures  the  first  crop  of  hay  following,  by 
causing  the  grass  to  grow  coarser,  more  woody,  and  with  less 
saccharine  matter. 

MY  APPLE     ORCHARD 

comprises  three  hundred  trees  of  the  best  improved  varieties 
for  the  climate,  placed  in  rows  two  rods  apart.  The  ground 
was  prepared  before  planting  by  being  raised  with  frequent 
plowings  into  ridges  two  feet  high,  where  the  trees  were  set. 
The  corresponding  depression  between  the  ridges  gives  good 
surface  drainage.  Since  the  trees  have  come  to  full  bearing, 
every  third  year  the  orchard  has  been  heavily  manured,  but 
not  plowed.  It  has  also  been  my  custom  for  years  to 


120  ^^E   COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

keep  a  number  of  young  hogs  in  my  orchard  in  the  fore  part 
of  the  Summer  and  also  in  the  Fall.  They  work  under  the 
trees,  destroying  the  grass  and  all  insects  that  burrow  in  the 
ground  and  prey  upon  the  trees  and  fruit.  The  result  is  I 
have  not  missed  a  single  crop  of  fruit,  and  the  trees  are  gener- 
ally healthy  and  vigorous.  I  am  not  troubled  with  codling 
moth,  nor  have  I  seen  any  appearance  of  canker  worm,  while 
my  neighbor's  orchards  have  been  much  injured  within  the  last 
two  years.  The  early  Richmond  cherry  is  hardy  and  has  been 
a  regular  bearer  with  me. 

MY  HOME. 

Believing  that  nothing  adds  more  towards  making  home 
attractive  to  its  occupants,  and  has  a  greater  influence  in  de- 
veloping the  finer  qualities  of  one's  nature,  than  a  liberal  outlay 
of  money  in  building  fine  dwellings,  and  adorning  the  sur- 
roundings with  the  beauties  of  nature,  I  have  expended  money 
freely  in  that  direction,  to  render  my  dwelling  worthy  of  the 
name — home,  a  place  to  which  my  children  are  proud  to  have 
their  associates  come.  There  is  a  sad  neglect  among  the  farmers 
of  our  State  generally,  in  this  .respect  —  a  neglect  which 
often  has  the  effect  of  enticing  farmers'  children  to  the  towns 
and  cities,  where  they  see  handsome  residences  in  sad  contrast 
with  the  surroundings  of  their  own  homes  on  the  farm.  When 
home  is  made  to  correspond  with  the  meaning  of  the  sweetest 
word  in  our  language,  then  those  who  grow  up  under  its 
influence  will  ever  revere  the  place, — be  sorry  to  leave  and 
glad  to  return  to  it. 

LIVE  STOCK. 

From  early  youth  I  had  a  fondness  for  fine  stock,  espe- 
cially cattle  and  hogs.  In  my  boyhood  days,  when  looking  at 
the  pictures  of  such,  I  resolved  that  some  day  I  would  own 
and  raise  that  kind  of  animals.  Twelve  years  of  patient  in- 
dustry, in  preparing  my  farm  and  erecting  suitable  buildings, 
passed  before  I  commenced  the  business  of  realizing  these  boy- 
hood dreams.  In  1867  I  made  my  first  purchase  of  thorough- 
bred Short  Horn  cattle  and  Berkshire  swine,  which  laid  the 
foundation  of  my  present  herd,  many  scions  of  which  hav& 


HIGH  FEEDING.  121 

gone  into  different  parts  of  the  western  country.  My  selec- 
tions were  made  with  a  view  to  purity  of  blood  and  animal 
merit  combined,  avoiding  all  extremes  of  fancy  and  shunning 
the  vile  influence  of  speculation.  Believing  from  actual  dem- 
onstrated facts  and  my  own  observations  that  Short  Horn 
cattle  had  more  good  qualities  to  fit  them  for  transforming 
the  product  of  the  soil  into  human  food,  in  the  form  of  milk 
and  beef,  at  less  cost  than  any  other  breed  of  the  species  born, 
they  were  selected  as  being  the  most  profitable  to  raise. 
Berkshire  swine  were  chosen  on  account  of  early  maturity  and 
fineness  in  quality  of  flesh  produced. 

I  have  always  advocated  what  many  term 

HIGH  FEEDING, 

from  the  fact  that  I  am  convinced  that  all  the  improved  breeds  of 
stock  are  the  produce  of  select  breeding,  coupled  with  ex- 
tra feeding.  They  are  the  result  of  man's  enterprise,  and 
nothing  is  due  to  natural  origin.  With  time  and  these  influ- 
ences, a  breed  of  any  of  the  species  of  domestic  animals  may 
be  made  to  produce  a  defined  type  for  any  specific  purposes. 
Hence  feeding  and  breeding  for  certain  improved  results  go 
hand  in  hand  together.  Separate  them  and  the  end  in  view  is 
never  reached.  Plenty  of  feed  and  warm  stalls  in  the  Winter 
with  rich  pasture  without  any  grain  in  the  Summer,  has  enabled 
me  to  keep  my  stock  in  thriving  condition  all  the  year.  Avoid- 
ing feasts  or  famines,  they  are  healthy  and  profitable.  I  have 
tried  the  cutting  and  steaming  of  feed  for  stock  in  Winter,  but 
have  abandoned  it,  because  the  benefit  does  not  pay  for  the 
extra  labor,  when  the  cost  of  the  grain  is  taken  into  considera- 
tion. I  grind  the  grain  and  feed  it  in  the  meal,  the  hay  as 
grown,  and  I  find  my  stock  do  fully  as  well  on  a  slightly 
increased  quantity. 

MY  HOGS 

have  warm  and  dry  sleeping  rooms,  but  have  the  liberty  of  an 
open  lot  at  all  times  for  exercise.  I  feed  dry  corn  and  slops, 
and  wood  and  coal  ashes  are  placed  where  they  can  get  them  if 
they  desire.  I  have  raised  hundreds  of  hogs  during  the  last 


122  LEE  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

ten  years,  yet  I  have  never  had  a  case  of  so-called  hog  cholera 
on  the  farm.  All  hogs  not  sold  as  breeders,  or  retained  on  the 
farm  for  that  purpose,  are  marketed  at  from  nine  to  ten  months 
old. 

THE    HONEY  BEEX 

has  always  been  a  favorite,  and  has  been  Kept  for  years,  not 
for  profit  further  than  home  use  but  for  a  fondness  I  have  for 
working  with  them.  In  1865  I  purchased  a  number  of  pure 
Italian  queen  bees  and  introduced  them  into  the  hives.  They 
did  well  until  1870,  when,  by  a  disease  similar  to  what  is  known 
as  dead-hood,  I  lost  them  all.  Since  then  the  black  bee  only 
has  been  kept.  Our  climate  I  do  not  consider  favorable  for  the 
honeybee.  There  are  too  many  extremes  in  the  temperature 
and  in  wet  and  dry  weather.  I  have  used  various  kinds  of 
hives,  and  my  convictions  are  that  the  slat  hive  has  many 
advantages  for  working  with  the  bees,  but  they  are  nob  as  good 
in  the  cold  of  Winter  as  the  common  box  hive,  on  account  of 
too  much  vacant  room. 

POULTRY. 

A  number  of  varieties  of  the  barn-yard  fowls  have,  at  dif- 
ferent times,  been  kept.  The  Asiatic  breeds  suffer  from  the 
colds  of  Winter  and  have  recently  been  replaced  by  the  Ply- 
mouth Rock  breed,  which  are  more  hardy  and  better  layers,  as 
well  as  being  the  favorite  at  the  table.  Bronze  turkeys  have 
been  raised  for  years  and  many  very  fine  and  weighty  ones  have 
been  grown,  reaching  forty-four  pounds  at  two  years  old. 
The  young  males  weigh  twenty-five  pounds. 

While  giving  attention  to  the  breeds  of  improved  stock 
mentioned,  horses  have  not  been  over-looked,  yet  they  hnve 
not  been  made  a  specialty.  Of  sheep,  there  is  none  kept  on 
the  farm. 

In  the  meantime,  no  interest  has  been  paramount  to  that 
of  the  farm  itself.  Knowing  it  to  be  the  base  upon  which  the 
success  of  the  others  rests,  it  has,  in  all  times,  been  treated 
in  conformity  with  the  view  that  to  raise  good  stock  of  any 
kind  requires  plenty  of  food,  which  can  be  grown  only  on  a 
farm  which  has  a  rich  and  well  tilled  soil. 


BARNS  AND  SHEDS.  123 

SAMUEL  T.  K.  PRIME, 

DWIGHT,    LIVINGSTON   COUNTY. 

Some  of  My  Methods — Management  of  Hogs — A  Small  Flock  of 
Sheep  and  Their  Profit — What  Tiling  has  Done  for  Me. 

BERTHOLLY   HOME 

stock  farm  is  situated  one  mile  southwest  of  Dwight,  on  the 
Chicago  &  Alton  Railroad.  It  consists  of  246  acres,  and  is 
divided  as  follows :  In  pasturage  and  meadow,  80  acres  ;  the 
grounds  around  the  homestead  occupy  24  acres,  and  the  re- 
mainder of  the  farm  is  devoted  to  corn  and  grain.  The  main 
idea  of  the  farm  is  to  feed  upon  the  place  all  the  grain  that  is 
raised.  While  there  is  no  purpose  to  run  to  any  one  specialty, 
yet  hogs  and  sheep  are  the  principal  stock  raised,  in  connection 
with  a  few  cattle.  The  farm  represents  the  idea  of  mixed 
husbandry.  I  give  the  facts  as  they  have  developed  themselves 
during  the  past  few  years. 

I  look  upon  all  my  stock  as  just  so  many  boilers  for  the 
conversion  of  grain  into  pork,  beef  and  mutton.  Therefore, 
the  first  essential  is  to  have  cheap  fuel  and  plenty  of  water  to 
run  the  boilers. 

MY  BAKNS  AND   SHEDS, 

as  will  be  seen  by  the  plans,  are  all  connected.  My  feed  of 
all  kinds,  hay,  corn  meal  and  corn  fodder,  I  keep  under  cover. 
The  farmer  does  all  his  "  chores "  without  exposure  to  the 
weather.  The  horses,  the  cattle,  the  sheep  and  the  hogs  are 
all  fed  off  boards.  No  food  of  any  kind  is  wasted.  What  one 
animal  refuses  another  one  will  eat.  Man,  food  and  beast 
are  all  under  cover.  There  is  enough  grass  and  hay  wasted 
every  Winter  in  the  mud  to  give  every  farmer  in  Illinois  a 
copy  of  The  Model  Farms  FREE. 

THE   PIG   PEN 

forms  a  very  important  feature  in  my  methods,  and  if  I  have 
a  weakness  I  think  it  runs  in  that  direction.  The  lumber  I 


124  LIVINGSTON  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

have  used,  the  nails  I  have  driven  in  my  efforts  to  make  a 
model  pen  is  something  appalling.  It  does  not  suit  me  now, 
but  it  is  better  than  any  thing  I  have  before  used.  My 
present  pen  was  formerly  a  corn  crib.  It  is  50  feet  long  and 
14  feet  wide,  with  a  passage-way  on  one  side,  three  feet 
wide,  which  connects  with  my  cattle  barn.  In  one  end  of 
the  pen  are  two  vats,  seven  feet  in  diameter  and  two  feet 
deep.  These  vats  are  supplied  by  water  from  a  force-pump, 
which  is  worked  by  a  wind-mill.  The  vats  are,  during  the 
greater  portion  of  the  year,  kept  full  of  sour  food.  The  corn 
is  ground  upon  the  farm  by  a  large  two-horse  crusher,  and 
soured.  I  have  found  by  long  experience  that  corn  fed 
in  this  manner  gives  the  best  results.  All  the  swill  made 
upon  the  farm  is  also  thrown  into  these  vats.  One  vat  is 
always  ready  for  feed,  and  the  other  vat  is  always  in  the 
process  of  souring.  (See  plan.) 

This  pen  is  subdivided  into  eight  compartments,  on  every 
side  of  which,  except  where  the  trough  runs,  pieces  of  2x4  are 
fastened  uprightly,  to  which,  at  a  distance  of  6  to  8  inches  from 
the  floor,  a  4-inch  strip  is  nailed  around  the  whole  compartment, 

TO  PREVENT  THE   SOWS  FROM  LYING   UPON  THEIR   PIGS 

when  they  are  throwing  a  litter.  This  seems  to  be  a  small  item, 
but  I  have  saved  many  litters  of  pigs  in  this  manner.  Sta- 
tionary troughs  are  set  into  each  pen,  so  that  they  can  be  filled 
from  the  outside.  I  use  these  pens  for  fattening  hogs,  as  well 
as  for  breeding,  and  they  will  hold  with  ease  about  thirty  head. 
As  soon  as  one  lot  is  fattened,  I  put  in  another,  and  keep  these 
pens  full  for  seven  months  of  the  year. 

I  run  about  ten  breeding  sows  of  the  Berkshire  stock. 
My  sows  generally  come  in  about  the  first  of  April  and  Sep- 
tember. The  young  pigs  run  with  the  sows  for  six  weeks,  dur- 
ing which  time  they  are  taught  to  eat.  They  are  weaned  in  a 
separate  pasture  and  fed  either  soaked  or  boiled  feed.  I  com- 
mence feeding  all  my  hogs  young  and  old  very  early.  That 
is,  just  as  soon  as  the  corn  is  fairly  out  of  the  milk.  I  take 
them  all  up  and  sort  them,  and  put  them,  in  pens  out  of  doors 


6O 


125 


126  LIVINGSTON  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

large    enough    to  hold   ten  or   twelve  hogs  that  will  weigh 
three  hundred  pounds  each. 

FALL   FEEDING. 

I  cut  up  the  corn,  stalk  and  all,  and  commence  to  feed. 
I  do  not  believe  there  is  a  season  on  the  farm  when  a  farmer 
obtains  so  much  out  of  his  corn  crop  as  when  he  is  able  to  feed 
the  stalk,  leaves  and  the  ears.  I  invariably  commence  my  feed- 
ing season  by  the  middle  of  July,  then  again  the  first  of  October 
the  hogs  are  ready  for  market.  This  plan  I  have  pursued 
for  a  number  of  years  with  excellent  results.  I  also  plant 
half  an  acre  of  beets  to  feed,  and  I  consider  an  acre  of  arti- 
chokes indispensable  to  the  successful  bog  raiser.  The  best 
feed  I  have  ever  used  for  young  pigs  which  have  been  weaned, 
or  those  which  have,  for  want  of  care,  been  stunted,  is  equal 
parts  of  corn  meal,  oats  and  potatoes,  cooked  in  a  boiler  hold- 
ing two  barrels.  A  year  ago  last  Fall  I  put  up  fifty  young  pigs 
of  this  description,  fed  them  six  weeks  at  a  cost  of  1£ 
cents  per  day,  and  sold  them  at  the  end  of  the  above  time 
for  $150.  This  experience  convinced  me  that  there  was 
no  better  feed  in  the  world  for  such  stock. 

SHEEP. 

I  have  a  pleasant  experience  with  sheep  in  a  small  way. 
"  Our"  flock — for  it  belongs  mostly,  if  not  all,  to  my  son — grew 
up  in  this  way.  A  small  sum  of  money,  $15,  was  given  him. 
I  added  $10.  This  made  $25.  We  bought  eight  ewe  lambs  of 
medium  wool,  half  Cotswold  and  with  a  dash  of  South  Down 
blood,  as  handsome  and  well  formed  sheep  as  you  would  wish 
to  see.  Now  for  the  results  : 

FIRST   YEAR. 

8  ewes  gave  us  8  lambs  -      at  $3  00         $24  00 

48  Ibs  of  wool      -      -  20  9  60 

$33  60 

Cost  of  ewes  24  00 

Value  of  investment  end  of  first  year        -  $57  60 


SHEEP— TILING.  127 

SECOND     YEAR. 

14  ewes      -  -      at  $3  00         $42  00 

6  wethers     -  -     "     3  00           18  00 

14  lambs     -  "     3  00           42  00 

Wool  24  00 

Value  of  flock  end  of  second  year  $126  00 

THIRD    YEAR. 

20  ewes      -  at  $3  00 

6  wethers  -  -    "     3  00 

20  lambs     -  "     3  00 

Wool  - 


Value  of  flock  end  of  third  year  $184  00 

The  great  profit  of  sheep  is  in  the  small  flock.  Mine  are 
housed  every  night  from  the  1st  of  November  until  the  follow- 
ing May.  I  sow  every  season  a  small  piece  of  oats,  and  cut  it 
green  just  after  the  grain  is  well  filled.  This  answers  a  double 
purpose.  It  makes  splendid  feed  for  the  sheep  and  gives  me 
lots  of  "  bedding."  We  have  now  our  flock  so  improved  that 
the  South  Down  blood  predominates.  I  like  the  Downs  for 
the  reason  that  with  ordinary  care  they  are  always  fat,  and  as  for 
the  mutton  it  is  the  finest  in  the  world.  I  have  gone  somewhat 
in  detail  with  the  handling  of  this  little  flock,  first,  for  the 
purpose  of  showing  what  the  $25  has  earned,  and,  second,  to 
urge  every  man  who  owns  a  farm  to  keep  a  "  few  sheep,"  both 
for  the  profit  and  the  pleasure  he  will  derive  in  seeing  them 
steadily  increase,  giving  him  each  year  both  food  and  rai- 
ment. So  far  as  the  cost  of  keeping  is  concerned,  it  is  so  small 
in  proportion  to  the  profit  that  I  do  not  give  the  figures. 

TILING. 

After  a  thorough  observation  and  travel  all  over  the 
northwest,  I  am  satisfied  that  there  is  not  anywhere  a  -finer 
or  richer  body  of  land  than  the  Grand  Prairie  of  Illinois  along 
the  line  of  the  Chicago  &  Alton  Railroad.  But  it  has  its 
drawback.  For  the  last  few  years  wet  seasons  have  followed 


128  LIVINGSTON  COUNTY,  ^ILLINOIS. 

each  other  in  rapid  succession  until,  by  the  failure  of  crops, 
many  have  become  discouraged,  and  thousands  have  "  gone 
west."  Yet  my  faith  in  Providence  is  so  strong  that  I  never 
admit  that  He  made  such  a  rich  belt  of  land  that  those 
who  live  upon  it  should  suffer  from  poverty  and  debt,  unless 
owing  in  a  great  measure  to  their  own  utter  neglect  of  the 
use  of  common  sense.  My  remedy  for  most  of  the  ills  to  which 
farmers  are  heir  in  Illinois 

IS   TO   COMMENCE  TILING. 

My  attention  was  more  particularly  called  to  the  use  of 
tile  by  frequently  observing  that  in  certain  localities  of  the 
State  the  crops  never  failed,  houses  were  good,  barns  and 
out-buildings  in  order,  farmers  rode  in  carriages,  pianos  and 
organs  gave  forth  their  music,  silks  took  the  place  of  calicoes, 
every  sign  of  prosperity  obtained,  and  there  I  always  found  the 
free  use  of  tile.  After  much  preaching  and  writing  about  it,  I 
made  up  my  mind  that  the  accepted  time  to  commence  using  it 
myself  had  come.  I  forbear,  for  the  sake  of  the  community  in 
which  I  live,  to  relate  how  I  was  laughed  at  and  what  a  "  use- 
less expense  "  every  one  said  I  was  going  to.  Many  said  I  had 
"not  enough  fall;"  others,  "Where  will  you  get  an  outlet?" 
I  am  satisfied  that  the  day  will  come  in  Illinois  when  we  will 
see  the 

LARGEST  SIZED  TILES   LAID  ALONG  THE  ROADSIDE, 

both  as  a  road  improvement  and  into  which  to  connect  our 
farm  drains.  But  first,  a  word  in  regard  to  open  ditches.  I  con- 
sider them  a  perfect  nuisance.  They  cut  up  your  fields,  and 
must  be  cleaned  out  every  other  year  to  do  any  good.  I  have 
been  putting  down,  one  foot  below  the 

BOTTOM  OF  MY  OLD   OPEN   DITCHES, 

a  six-inch  tile,  and  filling  up  the  open  ditch.  It  is  not  the 
surface  water  that  does  so  much  injury  to  our  crops,  it  is 
the  water  which  soaks  into  the  ground  and  never  leaves  It  except 
by  the  slow  process  of  evaporation.  No  more  open  ditches 
for  me  !  I  have  sunk  hundreds  of  dollars  in  them.  I  had  a 


TWENTY  ACRES  TILED.  129 

twenty  acre  lot.  For  years  it  was  a  disgrace  to  the  farm.  So 
low  and  wet  that  nothing  would  grow  but  weeds  and  coarse 
grass.  I  tiled  it  in  the  following  manner. 

Roadside.  f>  inch  tile. 


JJ- 40  rods  3  inch  tile, 40  rods  4  irch  tile. 

I 

8 

40  rods  3  inch  tile, 40  rods  i  inch  tile. 


40  rods  3  inch  tile. 40  rods  4  inch  tile. 


I  ran  these  tiles  through  the  lowest  and  poorest  portion 
of  the  land,  commencing  upon  one  side  and  putting  them 
down  100  feet  apart,  and  at  a  depth  of  36  inches.  At  the 
time  of  putting  down  the  tiles,  we  were  trimming  our  trees 
and  had  a  great  abundance  of  branches  for  which  we  had  no 
use.  I  put  these  branches  on  top  of  the  tiles.  Now  what  has 
been  the  result.  Notwithstanding  an  unprecedented  drouth 
and  that  my  corn  had  all  to  be  replanted,  I  have  a  crop 
which  will  go  nearly  fifty  bushels  to  the  acre,  upon  land  which 
never  before  produced  anything  but  grass  and  weeds.  I  claim 
that  from  a  good  "  string"  of  tile  properly  laid,  a  farmer  will 
derive  as  much  benefit  in  a  dry  season  as  he  will  in  a  wet 
season. 

THE    WIND-MILL. 

Every  well  regulated  farm  ought  to  have  a  wind-mill. 
There  are  plenty  of  good  ones  and  some  poor  ones.  My 
first  experience  was  with  the  latter.  A  good  wind-mill  is  better 
than  the  average  "  hired  man."  The  latter  will  often  shirk 
and  neglect  to  pump  "  plenty  of  water  for  the  cattle,"  while 
through  rain  and  storm,  darkness  and  light,  the  good  wind- 
mill faithfully  performs  its  daily  revolutions,  and  gives  method 
and  prosperity  to  the  varied  interests  of  a  well  managed  farm. 


130  WHITESIDE  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

ELI  UPTON, 

MORRISON,  WHITESIDE  COUNTY. 

The    Observations  of  a  Life  —  Corn    Culture  —  Smut,  —  Black 
Leg  and  Foot  Rot  —  Dairying  and  the  Feed  for  Milch  Cows. 

WHEAT  AND  CORN. 

I  commenced  my  farm  in  1854,  which  was  bought  from 
the  State  a  short  time  before.  My  first  crops  were  Rio  Grande 
Spring  Wheat,  which  yielded  very  fairly.  In  one  good  season 
my  harvest  amounted  to  10,000  bushels  of  wheat. 

My  mode  of  cultivating,  after  plowing,  has  been  to  pul- 
verize the  ground  with  a  nine-toothed  cultivator,  then  sow  two 
bushels  of  clean  seed,  and,  if  the  weather  is  dry,  roll.  I  do 
this  work  as  early  as  the  frost  is  sufficiently  out  of  the  ground. 
In  this  latitude  our  prairies  will  produce  Spring  wheat  only  five 
or  six  years.  About  Winter  wheat  there  is  a  good  deal  of 
uncertainty.  I  am,  like  all  old  settlers,  without  confidence 
in  the  crop,  although  new  comers  are  often  very  enthusiastic. 
I  once  had  a  very  promising  stand  of  Winter  wheat  destroyed 
by  a  cold,  windy  November. 

Other  Spring  crops  require  the  same  tillage  as  wheat;  but 
oats  require  three  bushels  sown  to  the  acre.  Furthermore,  I 
have  lost  both  oats  and  barley  by  planting  too  early  ;  the  grain 
being  tender,  is  liable  to.be  destroyed  by  prolonged  cold,  wet 
weather,  yet  these  should  never  be  sown  late.  The  corn  crop 
every  western  farmer  knows  something  about.  A  good  crop 
generally  follows  a  good  stand  well  tended.  But  there  is  more 
to  it.  A  good  three-horse  riding  plow  will  turn  the  ground 
bottom  side  up,  every  thing  undsr,  always  the  same  depth.  I 
use  three  horses  averaging  thirteen  hundred  pounds  each, 
and  they  walk  along  with  ease. 

I  plant  with  what  is  called  a  check-row.  I  do  not  drag 
before  planting,  but  when  the  corn  sprouts.  I  once  dragged 


CULTIVATING  POTATOES.  131 

before  planting ;  cold,  wet  weather  followed,  the  corn  sprouted 
slowly,  and  the  pigeon  grass  grew  finely  and  formed  a  sod. 
The  ground  was  smooth  and  I  was  in  a  fix,  for  my  drag  would 
not  take  hold.  My  first  dragging  did  the  mischief,  for  had  the 
ground  been  rough,  as  when  left  from  the  plow,  I  would  have 
had  no  difficulty. 

IN  CULTIVATING  POTATOES, 

I  never  put  but  two  eyes  in  a  place,  as  surplus  of  seed  only 
produces  small  ones.  My  mode  of  cultivating  is  to  remove  the 
two  front  shovels  of  a  riding  corn  plow,  set  the  hind  shovels 
the  desired  width,  set  a  stake  and  mark  out,  dropping  the  seed 
ten  or  twelve  inches  apart.  I  take  off  the  hind  shovels,  put  on  the 
front  ones  so  as  to  throw  the  dirt  in,  and  go  astride  of  each  row. 
By  this  process  the  row  is  left  high.  When  the  sprouts  are 
approaching  the  surface,  drag  crosswise,  which  leaves  the  row 
perfectly  clean,  and  the  potatoes,  many  of  them,  in  sight. 
In  after  plowing  throw  as  little  earth  as  will  cover  the  small 
weeds,  to  obviate  filling  up  too  much  and  the  use  of  the  hoe. 
Large  fields  can  be  cultivated  with  little  hand  labor. 

THE  BEAN 

I  manage  in  the  same  way.  At  time  of  harvest,  pull  and  throw 
three  rows  together ;  drive  the  hay  rack  between  the  rows ;  the 
driver  stands  on  front  corner  of  the  rack,  a  pitcher  on  each  side, 
which  saves  treacling.  Rick  should  be  four  feet  wide ,  covered 
with  boards  or  prairie  grass. 

MANAGEMENT  OF   STOCK. 

I  have  had  thirty-six  years'  experience  in  managing  stock 
on  a  prairie  farm.  I  feed  a  little  dry  corn  to  all  animals,  when 
on  dry  feed.  In  feeding  them  fresh  corn,  one  hour  in  the  field 
at  first  is  long  enough,  then  bring  them  out  at  a  brisk  walk 
to  water,  if  half  a  mile  all  the  better,  and  there  will  be  no  cry 
about  the  "deadly"  smut,  which,  by  the  by,  is  perfectly  harmless. 

BLACK  LEG  CAN  BE   AVOIDED. 

This  occurs  in  the  Spring  when  cattle  are  turned  on  grass 
too  early  ;  also,  in  the  Fall  when  cattle  are  left  in  the  pasture 


132  WHITESIDE  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

.where  .there  is  nothing  to  eat.     Cattle,  when  fed  properly,  are 
never  troubled  with  it. 

SHEEP. 

In  the  September  of  18G3, 1  bought  500  breeding  ewes,  of 
what  is  or  was  called  common  breed.  The  next  Spring  I 
loaded  my  clip  on  a  hay  rack,  took  it  to  town,  sold  it  for  $1 
per  pound,  amounting  to  $2,700. 

I  had  1,400  head  when  the  business  went  down  ;  had  paid 
high  for  Jbucks  ;  held  on  so  long  (sold  the  last  of  the  flock  in 
1877)  that  I  made  no  profits. 

THE  FOOT-HOT. 

In  the  fifth  year  of  my  husbandry,  I  solved  this  question 
by  selecting  a  sound  sheep  and  applying  the  virus  thoroughly 
to  the  animal  day  after  day,  but  making  no  impression.  I  then 
turned  niy  attention  to  the  yards,  and  kept  them  clean  as  pos- 
sible, and  for  nine  years  had  not  one  case  of  foot-rot.  Old 
prejudices  are  very  lasting,  but  let  him  who  doubts,  take  the 
same  process  to  convince  himself,  which  he  will  do,  and  I  will 
have  one  more  on  my  side.  Further,  I  have  led  a  horse  through 
a  muddy  yard  after  a  prolonged  rain,  and  the  horse  would  rub 
and  stamp  his  feet  as  if  they  were  on  fire.  I  have  herded  sheep 
on  wet  pasture  to  kill  out  wild  grass,  which  was  poor  pasture 
for  sheep,  but  it  did  not  produce  foot-rot. 

I  have  written  on  this  subject  for  the  purpose  of  giving  relief 
to  farmers  that  are  troubled  with  regard  to  this  disease. 

DAIRYING. 

I  have  and  milk  sixty  cows,  what  are  called  high  grade 
Short  Horn  Durhams.  I  think  they  are  the  best  class  of  dairy 
cows  for  this  section  cf  country  where  corn  is  cheap.  I  change 
twenty  per  cent,  of  my  herd  annually,  and  it  pays.  A  cow 
weighing  from  twelve  to  fourteen  hundred,  nearly  direct  from 
the  milk  pail,  by  three  or  four  weeks'  good  feeding,  when  sold 
to  the  butcher,  will  bring  a  good  fresh  cow  to  the  dairy  and 
five  to  ten  dollars  to  her  owner.  While  the  little  Alder- 
ney  may  make  two-thirds  or  three-fourths  more  butter — 


THE  NORMAN  HORSE.  133 

taking  into  consideration  the  amount  of  feed  consumed — when 
turned  to  the  butcher  proves  but  a  "scrub,"  if  I  may  use  the 
expression.  They  are  too  small  for  beef  where  grain  and  feed 
are  cheap.  I  feed  corn  meal,  with  oats  or  bran,  as  much  as  the 
cow  will  take  and  fill  herself  with  hay.  I  make  it  a  point  to 
give  as  much  grain  to  a  cow  as  she  will  eat.  When  yarded 
cows  will  not  do  well.  My  cows  have  produced  over  $40  in 
butter.  The  past  year  I  have  raised  fifty-five  good  calves. 
Give  them  new  milk  for  two  weeks,  then  give  them  skim 
milk.  My  cows  are  put  in  the  stable  at  night,  fed  grain,  then 
hay ;  in  the  morning  I  feed  hay  and  grain,  and  turn  them  into  a 
}-ard  protected  from  wind.  Feed  hay  in  a  rack.  There  is  a 
tank  of  fresh  water  always  ready  for  their  use. 

The  sixty  cows  have  produced  nearly  eleven  thousand 
pounds  of  butter.  My  wife  has  made  the  butter  and  appeared 
to  enjoy  the  work.  I  have  been  well  paid  for  the  labor  ex- 
pended. 

THE  NORMAN   HORSE. 

A  horse  weighing  less  than  twelve  hundred  pounds  is,  in 
my  estimation,  unfit  for  the  plow  or  drag.  A  fourteen  hundred 
pound  horse,  well  made  up,  just  suits  me.  I  am  breeding  from 
full  blood  or  imported  Norman.  I  have  one  two  years  old  in 
August  whose  weight  is  fourteen  hundred  pounds ;  another 
three  months  older  whose  weight  is  about  the  same ;  and  one 
yearling  twelve  hundred  and  fifty.  These,  perhaps,  will  be 
more  fitted  for  the  drag.  The  Norman  horse  is  mild  in  temper, 
easily  broken,  trusty,  a  fast  walker,  and  hardy ;  his  powers  of 
endurance  are  great. 


134  MADISON  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

V.  P.  RICHMOND, 

MORO,   MADISON  COUNTY. 

Prairie  Home  Farm  —  Mixed  Husbandry  —  Pastures  and  Mea- 
dows —  Grrain  —  Devon  Cattle  —  Sheep  —  Essex  Swine  — 
Fruit  —  Poultry  —  Drainage. 

PRAIRIE  HOME. 

My  farm  consists  of  100  acres  in  two  separate  tracts  ;  65 
acres  comprise  the  home  farm,  the  remainder  lying  half  a  mile 
distant.  It  is  situated  in  sections  nine  and  ten,  Fort  Russell 
Township,  Madison  County.  The  soil  is  variable,  from 
rich,  deep  black,  to  light  gray  and  claj'ey.  When  I  first 
began  \vork,  there  was  on  the  farm  what  the  pioneers  called  a 
buffalo  or  deer  lick,  a  very  hard,  compact,  yellow  clay  with 
some  saline  properties.  By  dint  of  bounteous  manuring,  and 
deep  plowing,  no  one  can  point  out.  the  place  to-day,  unless 
myself,  and  I  with  difficulty. 

I  believe  a  mixed  husbandry  is  the  proper  course  for  far- 
mers in  general,  and  therefore  I  have  carried  as  much  stock  on 
the  farm  as  it  would  bear,  consequently  hay  and  corn  have 
principally  been  consumed  thereon. 

My  treatment  of  pasturage  and  meadow  lands  has  been  to 
hold  about  12  acres  as  a  permanent  pasture,  on  which  we  aver- 
age a  stock  of  8  cows  and  horses  and  75  sheep.  My  reason  for 
permanent  pasture  is  that  the  older  the  sod,  the  more  reliable 
in  seasons  of  drought ;  and  for  keeping  sheep  and  larger  stock 
in  the  same  pasture,  that  one  will  eat  what  the  other  refuses, 
thereby  giving  grasses  a  chance  to  grow.  The  droppings  of 
sheep  also  take  immediate  hold  on  the  nourishment  of  grasses, 
as  soon  as  a  dew  falls.  When  the  small  grain  is  stacked  we 
pasture  the  stubble,  and  the  meadows  when  the  grass  has  start- 
ed. Meadows  need  occasional  renewing,  as  in  four  or  five 


BEES— DAIRYING.  135 

years  blue  grass  and  white  clover  will  begin  to  crowd  the  other 
grasses. 

GRAIN. 

I  am  raising  grain  to  some  extent  on  land  that  I  rent. 
The  cost  of  raising  wheat  and  corn  can  only  be  estimated  year 
by  year,  as  the  expense  is  usually  more  in  producing  a  poor 
crop  of  either  than  a  good  crop.  In  1879  my  estimate  would 
be  65  cents  for  wheat  and  12£  cents  for  corn.  In  1878  it  was 
about  80  cents  for  wheat  and  25  cents  for  corn.  Each  cost  for 
production  less  in  1879  than  in  1878. 

CULTIVATION  OF  CORN  AND   WHEAT. 

In  plowing  for  corn  I  usually  plow  deep,  using  judgment, 
of  course,  about  it.  Some  years  a  medium  depth  is  best,  while 
in  other  seasons,  trench  or  double  plowing  is  best.  Lay  off 
with  marker,  and  drop  by  hand  or  use  hand  planters  when  all 
things  are  in  order  for  them^  When  dropped  by  hand,  cover 
with  a  plow,  follow  with  harrow  (and  roller  if  necessary),  har- 
row again  before  coming  up,  and  work  as  fast  and  often  as  pos- 
sible until  four  or  five  feet  high,  then  let  the  corn  alone  until 
cutting  or  gathering.  I  gather  corn  with  one  hand  to  a  team, 
two  rows  on  the  left  side  of  the  wagon,  and  the  team  traveling 
on  a  row  previously  gathered.  Cribbing  corn  can  be  done  in 
many  ways,  but  good  cribs  with  open  sides  and  projecting  shingle 
roofs,  are  best.  For  wheat  early  and  deep  plowing  of  stubble 
or  sod  lands,  frequent  and  shallow  cultivation,  and  September 
drilling  give  me  the  best  results.  I  harvest  with  a  Marsh 
Binder  and  Climax  Dropper;  stack  generally,  and  thresh  by 
steamer  when  we  can  not  get  horse  machines.  Stack  as  much 
straw  as  our  stock  will  consume. 

DEVON   CATTLE — HORSES. 

I  keep  Devon  cattle.  I  believe  the  Devon  cow  to  be  the, 
cow  for  small  farms,  or  families.  She  is  always  reliable,  giv- 
ing a  reasonable  flow  of  milk  for  a  long  time,  making  gilt-edge 
butter  and  first  rate  cheese,  besides  good  milk  for  the  table. 
If  you  sell  the  calves  to  the  butchers,  they  are  better  than 
Ayrshire  or  Alderney.  I  believe  as  much  beef  can  be  made 


130  MADISON  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

from  Devons  as  from  Short  Horns  with  the  same  expense.  My 
horses  are  the  nearest  approach  to  thorough  blood  without  be- 
ing thoroughbred.  I  find  a  well  bred  horse  of  about  1,000 
pounds  able  to  do  plowing  as  Avell  as  larger  and  coarser  horses 
or  mules.  I  use  thereon  a  16-inch  plow  and  go  down  9  to 
12  inches  deep,  at  an  average  rate  of  three  acres  per  day.  On 
the  road  they  are  quicker  and,  what  is  more  to  the  purpose,  are 
intelligent  and  reliable. 

MERINO  SHEEP. 

My  sheep  are  principally  Merinos.  I  have  been  crossing 
a  few  with  South  Downs,  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  city 
butchers.  I  fancy  the  Merinos,  but  would  advise  no  one  if 
favorably  inclined  to  other  breeds  to  grow  them  ;  for  a  sheep 
breeder  will  only  do  well  with  the  kind  he  best  fancies. 

ESSEX   HOGS  AND   CARE  OP  STOCK. 

My  experience  with  Essex  Hogs  is  only  that  of  two  years, 
but  I  believe  them  to  be  the  coming  breed.  My  Winter  care  of 
stock  is  to  shelter  every  thing  during  cold  and  stormy  weather, 
tying  up  horses  and  cattle,  and  assorting  sheep  as  their  differ- 
ent strength  may  seem  to  require.  I  feed  occasionally  sulphur, 
ashes,  and  charcoal,  and  seldom  have  sick  horses,  cattle  or  hogs, 
and  never  scab  or  ticks  on  sheep. 

FRUIT. 

I  aim  to  have  an  abundance  for  home  use  of  apples,  pears, 
and  small  fruits ;  but  do  not  try  to  sell  much  of  the  surplus. 
Eighty  cents  a  barrel  for  apples  will  not  pay  one  to  neglect  the 
important  work  of  the  farm. 

DAIRYING 

with  me  is  principally  for  my  own  use,  and  to  be  sure  of  plenty 
of  good  butter.  I  sell  enough,  however,  to  more  than  supply 
the  house  with  groceries  from  an  average  of  three  Devon  cows. 

POULTRY. 

For  ten  years  or  more  I  have  kept  the  White  Cochin,  and 
I  have  no  reason  to  object  to  them.  They  prove  good  layers, 


TURKEYS  —  DRAINAGE.  137 

good  setters,  care  well  for  the  young  chickens,  and,  better  than 
all  else,  can  take  care  of  themselves  after  three  or  four  weeks 
old. 

TURKEYS. 

I  raise  only  for  our  own  use.  Turkeys  and  flowers,  in 
Spring  and  early  Summer,  do  not  agree,  and  I  like  the  flowers. 
I  buy  a  setting  or  two  of  eggs  in  Spring,  raise  as  many  as 
I  can  and  dispose  of  all  of  them  during  the  Winter. 

MY  LAND 

is  upland  prairie,  well  drained  naturally,  and  not  much 
troubled  with  long  rains.  To  make  it  still  better  we  are  pur- 
suing a  system  of 

DRAINAGE. 

I  begin  with  the  hollows  for  main  drains  and  put  in  later- 
als as  means  and  time  will  allow. 

FENCES  AND  BUILDINGS. 

My  farm  is  principally  surrounded  by  Osage  hedge  in  good 
order.  There  is  some  good  wire  and  paling,  and  some  poor 
fences,  and  some  board  fence  and  common  paling  fence  for 
divisions.  The  poor  fences  will  be  made  better.  I  have  a 
good  farm  house ;  a  barn  60x70  feet,  in  which,  in  the  Winter, 
I  keep  from  fifteen  to  twenty  horses  and  cattle,  an  average  of 
eighty  sheep,  three  wagons  and  some  other  farm  implements, 
five  hundred  bushels  of  grain,  one  thousand  bushels  of  corn 
and  about  twenty  tons  of  hay.  The  hay  is  elevated  and  car- 
ried about  the  barn  so  far  as  practicable  by  horse  power.  I 
have  a  farm  machinery  building,  in  which  is  stored  all  the  ma- 
chinery ($700  worth)  not  in  use,  for  the  Winter,  and  another 
building  for  workshop,  buggies,  and  some  other  common  farm 
implements,  all  insured  in  sound  Insurance  Companies.  I  have 
a  small  grove  of  Osage  Orange  for  timber  purposes,  and  wish 
it  had  been  much  larger  at  the  first  setting  of  trees  on  the 
farm.  Around  the  house  there  are  some  dozen  varieties  of 
evergreens,  some  thirty-five  feet  high  or  more,  besides  decidu- 
ous trees,  among  which  are  Bearing  Pecan,  White  and  Black 


138  PIKE  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

Walnut  trees.  For  water  we  are  well  supplied  by  five  wells, 
not  deep,  but  strong  springs,  a  stock  pond  and  cistern. 

NOXIOUS  WEEDS 

I  do  not  allow  to  grow.  Cockle  burrs,  Jamestown  weeds,  bur- 
dock, thistles  of  all  kinds,  Indian  mallows,  and  some  nettles 
are  destroyed  on  sight.  The  horse  nettle,  bearing  a  little  ball 
similar  to  a  potato  ball,  grows  on  the  farm  and  I  know  of  no 
way  in  which  to  destroy  it.  The  roots  are  ever-living,  I  be- 
lieve, and  go  further  down  than  any  cultivation  will  reach. 

Such  is  a  brief  sketch  of  "Prairie  Home  Farm,"  and  may 
the  description  be  of  benefit  to  some  one.  Where  I  err  in  my 
workings,  I  advise  the  reader  to  profit  by  the  error  and  do  bet- 
ter for  himself.  Do  right  yourself,  not  as  •!  tell  you  or  as  I 
have  done. 


EDWARD  WHITTLETON, 

BARRY,   PIKE  COUNTY. 

Winter  Wheat  and  Corn  Culture  —  Rotation  of  Crops  —  Manure 
Spread  at  All  Seasons  of  the  Year —  Good  Drainage  and 
Hogs. 

EVERGREEN  FARM, 

so  named  from  the  number  of  evergreens  scattered  around  the 
dwelling  of  the  farm,  is  situated  on  the  Hannibal  and  Naples 
Railroad,  one  mile  east  of  Barry,  and  on  the  Barry  and  Gregg- 
ville  highway.  It  contains  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  acres. 
The  orchard  and  grounds  around  the  house  occupy  ten  acres ; 
the  remainder  of  the  farm  being  divided  into  five  fields  of  nearly 
equal  dimensions.  The  land  in  this  locality  is  a  lively  loam, 
one  and  a  half  to  two  and  a  half  feet  deep,  underlaid  with  a  non- 
retentive  subsoil  of  light  red  color.  The  main  intention  of  the 
owner  of  this  farm  is  to  make  it  a  permanent  home  for  himself 
and  his  family ;  consequently  most  of  the  proceeds  derived 


THE  MAIN   IDEA.  139 

from  it  have  been  returned  in  the  shape  of  improvements,  such 
as  building,  fencing,  and  drainage.  Wheat,  corn,  hogs,  grass 
and  pasturage  have  received  special  attention  at  his  hands ; 
and  now  I  will  describe  some  of  the  methods  by  which  these 
have  been  cultivated,  raised,  and  harvested. 

MY  MAIN  IDEA 

in  managing  these  crops  being  to  still  keep  the  farm  up  to,  or 
near  to  its  original  fertility  and  productiveness,  I  have  followed 
closely  the  following  rotation. 

Beginning  with  sod,  it  is  plowed  in  the  Fall,  if  possi- 
ble, to  the  depth  of  seven  or  eight  inches,  and  planted  the 
following  Spring  to  corn.  This  is  kept  in  corn  three  years, 
then  changed  to  wheat,  and  run  the  same  length  of  time  to  that 
crop,  then  seeded  down  to  grass  for  meadow  and  pasture.  It 
is  then  kept  down  to  grass  four  years,  and  all  the  manure,  long 
or  short,  rotted  or  unrotted,  that  can  be  made  is  applied  to  the 
grass  land.  This  is  hauled  at  almost  any  time  during  the 
season  when  it  will  not  interfere  with  the  advanced  growth  of 
the  meadow  ;  the  pastures  are  neither  pastured  nor  the  meadows 
cut  very  close  ;  the  object  being  to  form  as  fast  as  possible  a 
heavy  sod  to  be  plowed  up  again  for  the  above  rotation.  This 
system  of  cultivation  has  kept  the  farm  in  a  high  state  of  pro- 
ductiveness. 

WHEAT 

is  very  often  lodged ;  one  year  I  had  twenty-five  acres  of  it ' 
on  the  farm,  every  particle  of  which  was  lodged.  It  was 
cut  with  a  four-horse  McCormick  self-rake  reaper,  without 
binding ;  was  picked  up  from  the  gavels  on  wagons  with  a 
Foust  hay  loading  machine,  and  stacked  with  a  derrick.  This 
wheat  was  sold  with  only  a  reduction  of  five  cents  from  the 
market  price,  and  yielded  twenty-five  bushels  to  the  acre.  A 
few  failures  have  resulted  from  freezing  out;  but  in  the  main 
my  wheat  has  done  well.  The  ground  is  plowed  as  soon  as  the 
crops  are  removed,  then  harrowed  and  rolled  until  seeding  time  ' 
(which  should  be  in  this  latitude  from  the  eighteenth  to  the 


140  PIKE  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

twenty-fifth  of  September),  when  one  bushel  of  wheat  to  the 
acre  is  drilled  in. 

THE    FTJLTZ    WHEAT    HAS    PROVED   TO    BE   VERY   PRODUCTIVE, 

hardy,  and  fly-proof.  The  cost  of  putting  in  sixty  acres  of 
wheat  has  averaged  about  as  follows  : 

1G£  days  Plowing,  0  horse  plow  at  $3  00     -  $40  50 

7  "      Harrowing,  3  horses            3  00   -  -     21  00 

8  "      Rolling,  2  horses                 2  50     -  -  20  00 
5        "      Drilling,  2  horses                2  50   -  -     12  50 
60  bushels  Seed  Wheat                         90    -  -  54  00 

Total     -  $107  CO 

Cost  per  acre  $2  70 

Twenty-two  acres  of  this  were  plowed  with  a  three-horse 
plow.  On  the  same  land  with  same  culture,  one  year's  crop 
(1878)  yielded  about  1,750  bushels. 

CORN  GROUND   IS   PLOWED 

as  early  in  the  Spring  as  the  condition  of  the  soil  will  admit, 
care  being  taken  to  avoid  plowing  while  the  ground  is  wet. 
Horace  Greeley's  advice  is  taken  when  we  are  plowing  for  corn, 
and  the  plow  is  put  down  nine  or  ten  inches  deep ;  the  ground 
is  put  in  good  tilth  by  harrowing.  I  have  not  seen  as  good 
results  as  have  some  farmers,  from  harrowing  small  corn.  As 
soon  as  the  corn  is  up,  the  wheel  double-walking  cultivators 
are  used,  by  changing  the  plows  or  cultivators  so  that  the  hind 
shovel  will  be  next  to  the  row  of  corn ;  the  fenders  have  to  be 
adjusted  to  the  hind  shovel  by  boring  an  extra  hole  in  the 
beam  of  the  plow.  The  shovels  are  turned  slightly  from  the 
corn,  and  as  the  result  of  this  the  forward  shovel  breaks  the 
ground  away  from  the  corn,  making  a  furrow  for  the  hind 
shovel  to  turn  its  furrow  into,  and  leaving  the  3*oung  corn 
standing  on  a  ridge.  By  this  method  it  is  hard  to  cover  it  up, 
the  clod  naturally  rolling  off  the  ridge  into  the  furrow,  so  that 
the  corn  can  be  very  closely  cultivated  at  the  time  that  such 
close  cultivation  is  needed  the  most ;  and  at  no  other  stage  of 
its  growth  can  it  be  done  so  well.  After  the  corn  is  large 
enough  to  stand  the  dirt,  the  cultivators  are  changed  back  again, 


DRAINAGE  —  HOGS.  141 

and  the  dirt  thrown  to  the  corn.  This  treatment  has  been 
pursued  for  a  long  time  and  lias  given  the  best  results  in  culti- 
vating small  corn.  The  idea  seems  to  me  far  better  than 
that  of  employing  the  diamond  plow.  My  yield  rarely  falls 
below  sixty  bushels  per  acre. 

DRAINAGE. 

This  soil  is  mostly  dry,  still  it  has  seepy  or  springy  places 
on  it.  These  places  are  not  in  the  hollows,  but  on  the  slope, 
probably  one-third  to  one-fourth  of  the  distance  from  its  base. 
Considerable  drainage  on  the  farm  has  been  done.  Six  thous- 
and feet  of  tiling  have  been  laid,  and  a  pile  of  it  is  always  to 
be  seen  on  the  farm  waiting  to  be  put  in  when  an  opportunity 
presents  itself.  The  ditches  are  commenced  in  the  Spring,  and 
finished  in  the  Fall ;  they  are  staked  out  at  the  upper  part  of 
the  wet  places,  and  a  furrow  is  opened  with  a  strong,  steady 
team ;  this  is  done  in  the  fields  which  are  pastured,  or  in  grass. 
The  stock  will  tramp  it  down,  or  it  can  be  harrowed.  This  is 
repeated  as  often  as  wished  during  the  Summer,  and  in  the  Fall 
the  ditches  are  lined  out  and  the  bottom  dug  out  with  spades. 
The  bottom  is  now  brought  to  a  perfect  grade  three  feet  deep 
from  the  top  of  the  soil.  Tile  are  then  laid,  the  last  dirt  that 
was  taken  out  with  the  spade  is  returned,  and  tramped  down, 
or  a  horse  put  on  to  make  it  solid.  A  few  turns  with  a  plow 
will  fill  it  up.  The  field  is  now  plowed,  and  is  ready  for  corn 
the  following  Spring.  This  way  of  ditching  is  accomplished 
with  very  little  manual  labor. 

HOGS. 

The  hog-pen  is  fifty  by  sixteen  feet,  with  a  corn  crib  ten 
feet  taken  off  one  end.  This  is  made  use  of  for  brood  sows  in 
the  Spring,  for  fattening  the  pigs  in  the  Fall,  and  for  feeding 
in  rainy  weather.  A  large  loft  is  above  for  straw  which  will 
hold  plenty  of  bedding  for  a  long  time.  The  pen  can  be  parti- 
tioned off  for  brood  sows.  Sows  drop  their  pigs  the  last  of 
March  or  the  first  of  April.  The  }'oung  pigs  are  fed  on  soaked 
corn  and  slop,  until  about  three  months  old ;  then  corn  is 
given  them,  with  pasture  enough  to  keep  them  growing  and 


142  WHITESIDE   COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

thrifty  until  the  first  of  September,  when  they  are  placed  by 
themselves  on  pasture  and  fed  all  the  corn  they  will  eat.  In 
cold  weather  they  are  shut  up  on  a  lot  close  to  the  pen.  They 
are  marketed  about  Christmas  and  show  an  average  weight  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds. 


C.  C.  BUELL, 

BOCK    FALLS,    WHITESIDE     COUNTY. 
How  to  Make  a   Cheap   Cow  Stable. 

Being  compelled  to  build  cheap  or  not  at  all,  I  adopted  the 
following  plan,  after  some  preliminary  trials.  I  have  my  stables 
three  in  a  row,  and  a  few  feet  from  each  other.  The  front 
opens  toward  a  spacious  yard  used  for  stacking  hay,  and  mis- 
cellaneous purposes,  this  space  lying  between  stables  and  house. 
The  rear  opens  into  the  cow  yards.  Each  stable  is  twenty- 
five  feet  wide  by  thirty-three  feet  long,  sixteen  feet  lumber  work- 
ing nicely,  without  sawing,  to  construct  them.  These  stables 
accommodate  twenty-two  cows  each,  though  if  I  had  large 
cows,  I  should  arrange  for  only  twenty.  They  are  constructed 
as  follows :  Joists  4x4  for  corner  and  side  posts,  each  about 
ten  feet  long,  setting  them  into  the  ground  so  as  to  make  the 
stable  at  the  eaves  about  eight  or  eight  and  a  half  feet  high.  I 
arrange  for  two  rows  of  cows,  with  the  feed  alley  in  cen- 
ter, seven  feet  wide.  In  the  line  of  the  stanchions,  I  use  2x6 
posts  (five  of  them)  extending  to  the  rafters,  laying  out  the 
plan  so  that  these  shall  form  part  of  the  stanchions,  and  plac- 
ing the  outside  posts  to  correspond.  I  board  up  the  outside  with 
common  boards,  put  on  horizontally,  and  leaving  space  the 
width  of  the  center  alley  for  double  door  opening  to  the  front, 
and  also  space  for  a  good  wide  cattle  door  at  each  corner  of 
the  rear  end. 

I  have  a  small,  low,  center  door  in  the  rear  for  throwing  out 
the  refuse  from  the  hay  or  feeding  alley.     I  use  such  additional 


A  CHEAP  COW  STABLE.  143 

posts  for  the  outside  as  may  be  necessary  for  the  strength  of 
the  building.  I  commence  at  the  top  of  each  side  to  board, 
using  a  good  firm  board  for  the  lower  ends  of  the  roof-boards 
to  rest  upon,  and  bank  up  or  dig  down  at  the  bottom  as  neces- 
sity requires.  I  use  2x4  scantling  for  the  ridge  pole,  adjusting 
the  length  of  my  rafters  to  roof-boards  sixteen  feet  long,  and 
fitting  two  supporters  between  rafters  between  ridge  pole  and 
eaves  board  for  roof  boards  to  rest  upon.  The  ends  of  the 
stable  are  made  firm  by  the  siding.  The  center  may  be 
made  firm  and  stable  by  running  a  common  fence  board  from 
corner  to  corner  (thus  X)  nailing  them  firmly  to  the  cross  ties 
over  head.  The  cross  ties  should  be  arranged  with  reference 
to  the  strengthening  of  the  stanchions,  as  well  as  to  supporting 
the  floor,  or  whatever  may  be  put  upon  them  above.  The 
stanchions  or  the  outline  of  them  should  go  up  at  the  same 
time  as  the  outside  of  the  building.  The  proper  size  for  both 
upper  and  lower  stringers  is  2x6  lumber,  and  the  same  material 
is  the  best  for  the  stanchions  themselves.  The  stringers  should 
be  held  to  the  main  supports  by  bolts  ;  the  intermediate  fixed 
portions  of  the  stanchions  may  be  spiked.  A  dirt  floor  answers 
well  enough  for  the  center,  and  should  be  quite  full  in  the 
middle. 

A  floor  three  planks  wide  does  nicely  for  the  hind  "feet  of 
the  cows,  and  a  clay  floor  is  best  for  the  fore  feet.  The  rear 
portion  should  be  planked,  but  lower.  This  stable  may  be 
made  warm  by  making  a  floor  over  head  of  old  boards,  or  even 
brush,  and  putting  plenty  of  straw  above.  The  sides  should  also 
be  boarded  up  with  any  old  material,  and  the  space  Veil  filled  in 
with  straw,  chaff,  sawdust,  tanbark,  shavings,  or  even  dirt,  if 
nothing  better  is  at  hand.  I  find  a  sled  and  mule  or  horse  the 
most  convenient  for  cleaning  these  stables,  hauling  my  manure 
entirely  away  from  the  building.  I  have  a  hand  cart  with  a  box 
rigged  on  it,  and  holding  four  or  five  bushels,  for  a  feeding  cart, 
running  it  into  the  alleys.  It  freezes  but  very  little  in  the 
coldest  weather  in  my  stables,  and,  although  the  roof  is  not 
battened,  and  the  floor  over  head  is  brush,  the  rain  seldom 
comes  through — the  leakage  being  absorbed  by  the  straw.  I 


144  LA  SALLE  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

hope  I  have  not  omitted  any  thing  which  may  be  essential  to 
the  understanding  of  my  plan.  It  is  designed  to  be  helpful  to 
those  farmers  who  have  plenty  of  will,  but  not  plenty  of 
money.  I  have  used  these  stables  several  years,  and  however 
nice  a  barn  I  may  ever  be  able  to  build,  I  do  not  expect  to 
have  any  which  will  be  more  economical  of  labor. 


AMOS  M.  EBERSOL, 

OTTAWA,  LA.  SALLE  COUNTY. 

Mixed   Husbandry  —  Stock  —  Grain  —  Value   of   Tree   Plant- 
ing —  Bees  and  Honey  — Poultry —  Tile  Drainage. 

FLORAL  HOME 

is  a  moderate  sized  farm  of  two  hundred  acres,  situate  in  La 
Salle  county,  Section  Thirty-one,  Township  Thirty-three,  Range 
Four. 

In  1842,  the  present  occupant,  then  a  young  man,  with  a 
light  pocket,  but  a  cheerful  heart  and  a  strong  arm,  and  with 
firm  principles  of  right  inculcated  by  a  devoted  mother,  plowed 
the  first  furrow  and  set  out  the  first  tree.  The  next  year  a 
bird  came  to  my  nest,  which  in  time  brought  me  six  birdlings. 
They  are  all  grown  up,  strong  and  healthy,  never  a  death  or  a 
very  severe  sickness  having  been  known  to  the  family.  So  it 
may  be  said  of  this  locality,  it  is  decidedly  a  poor  place  for 
doctors  to  locate ;  it  must  be  recorded,  however,  that  in  the 
early  settlement  of  this  county  we  suffered  more  or  less  with 
fever  and  ague,  when  our  medical  men  dosed  out  the  calomel 
and  quinine  by  the  spoonsful. 

Floral  Home  is  finely  watered,  Covil  creek,  formed  by  a 
thousand  springs,  running  through  it ;  hence  the  water  is  never 
scanty  or  warm,  but  always  fresh  and  inviting  to  man  or 
beast.  Our  wells,  also,  afford  an  abundant  supply  of  good, 
wholesome  water.  This  farm  is  connected  with  a  magnificent 
grove  which  supplies  myself  and  many  others  with  an  abundant 
quantity  of  fence  material  and  fuel.  I  was  very  saving  of  the 


MIXED  HUSBANDRY.  145 

wood  for  some  years,  but  am  now  convinced  that  if  it  is  not 
wasted,  it  will  grow  so  fast  that  a  few  acres  will  supply  an 
ordinary  farm  with  all  that  is  needed  in  this  line.  I  have  only 
twenty-five  acres,  and  have  much  more  on  the  ground  now  than 
I  had  forty  years  ago. 

Our  timber  consists  of  hickory,  black  walnut,  black  oak, 
red  oak,  white  oak,  burr  oak,  basswood,  pin  oak,  cedar,  arbor 
vitae,  hackberry,  butternut,  white  and  red  elm,  dogwood,  pine, 
sycamore,  cotton  wood,  etc.  The  black  walnut  is  rapid  of 
growth,  hardy,  and  vigorous.  I  have  many  trees  of  the  latter 
variety,  from  seeds  planted  by  myself — bearing  fruit  for  years, 
and  which  are  now  large  enough  to  make  ten  or  a  dozen  posts. 
My  advice  to  every  man  who  owns  a  farm  is : 

PLANT  TEEES  AND  SEEDS,  AND  KEEP  PLANTING. 

It  is  an  easy  matter  to  chop  down  a  tree  some  one  else  has 
planted,  not  so  easy  to  fell  one  you  have  yourself  planted  and 
nursed  for  years  from  a  tiny  shoot  that  a  dew-drop  would  bend 
to  a  giant  that  defies  the  storm. 

MIXED    HUSBANDRY. 

I  have  not  made  a  specialty  of  any  one  branch  of  farm 
produce,  but  have  devoted  my  time  to  what  is  called  mixed 
husbandry.  This  has  been  the  case  with  most  of  the  farmers 
of  the  county.  From  this  stand-point,  I  give  my  experience. 
Producing  pork  was  a  remunerative  business  until  the  disease 
known  as  the  "cholera"  made  its  appearance,  sweeping  off  the 
hogs  by  the  score,  and  sadly  disappointing  the  hopes  of  a  large 
majority  of  farmers.  During  the  last  year  comparatively  few 
have  indulged  in  this  branch,  and  consequently  few  hogs  have 
died  with  the  disease. 

AVe  feed  a  few  cattle  for  the  Chicago  market,  but  the 
greatest  share  of  the  corn  is  carried  to  market. 

I  have  carefully  computed  the   cost  of  grains  produced. 

COST   AND   CULTURE   OF   CORN. 

Corn  in  the  crib  costs  29  cts.,  3  cts.  of  this  for  harvesting. 

10 


146  LASALLE   COUNTY   ILLINOIS. 

The  average  is  thirty-seven  bushels  per  acre.  I  consider  it 
best  to  plow  the  ground  in  the  Fall ;  the  stock  should  not  be 
permitted  to  range  over  it  during  the  interval,  especially  when 
the  ground  is  soft.  I  use  the  sulky  plow,  and  regard  it  as  a 
grand  contrivance.  My  harrows  are  the  Scotch,  but  they  are 
twice  as  large  as  formerly.  I  am  not  contented  to  do  as  our 
fathers  did — I  must  have  all  my  farm  implements  to  correspond. 
I  plant  the  best  yellow  dent  corn,  with  an  improved  Vandivere 
— using  a  check-rower.  After  the  corn  is  planted,  I  harrow 
the  ground  thoroughly,  and  if  cloddy  roll  it.  I  also  use  the 
improved  Black  Hawk  for  cultivation,  and  usually  plow  four 
times. 

COST  AND   CULTURE   OF   SMALL   GRAIN. 

I  raise  but  little  wheat  compared  to  the  amount  of  corn, 
and  what  I  do  raise  costs  me  sixty-eight  cents  per  bushel.  Of 
this  eight  cents  is  for  harvesting  and  eight  cents  for  threshing. 
I  put  in  Fall  wheat  as  follows : 

Plow  the  ground  well ;  drag,  sow,  then  go  over  with  a  corn 
cultivator.  It  is  an  advantage  to  mulch  wheat  before  the 
Winter  begins,  by  spreading  a  very  thin  coat  of  manure  over 
it.  I  sow  Spring  wheat  early  on  Fall  plowing,  putting  it  in  as 
I  do  the  Fall  wheat.  The  harrow  leaves  the  seed  too  near  the 
surface,  hence  the  corn  plow  is  used.  I  studiously  avoid  put- 
ting in  poor  seed  or  that  which  is  not  clean.  Wheat  averages 
fifteen  bushels  per  acre.  My  rye  I  treat  as  I  do  the  wheat, 
this  averages  eighteen  bushels  per  acre,  costing  when  harvested 
and  in  the  granary  sixty-five  cents  per  bushel. 

Oats  I  generally  harrow  in,  either  on  Fall  or  Spring  plowing. 
If  the  season  is  dry,  rolling  improves  it.  The  average  yield  is 
thirty-seven  and  a  half  bushels  per  acre,  costing  twenty-three 
cents.  Harvesting  and  threshing  cost  five  cents  each  per 
bushel. 

MEADOWS 

I  occasionally  give  a  light  coat  of  manure  in  the  Fall,  which 
improves  the  crop  of  hay.  This  treatment  I  consider  also 


STOCK  — HOGS  — HORSES  — BEES.  147 

beneficial  for  pasture  lands.     My  average  crop  is   one  and  a 
half  tons  to  the  acre. 

STOCK. 

The  grade  Durham  is  my  choice  for  beef ;  for  dairy  pur- 
poses I  find  it  difficult  to  decide  between  the  merits  of  the 
Holstein  and  the  Jersey  ;  for  mutton  I  prefer  the  South  Downs ; 
for  wool  the  cross  of  Cotswolds  and  Merinos. 

HOGS. 

I  raise  almost  exclusively  the  Poland  Chinas,  and  certainly 
regard  them  as  the  best  for  all  purposes.  I  think  it  best  to 
give  hogs  a  good  clover  range,  with  plenty  of  clean  water  and 
shade  during  the  Summer ;  but  when  fattening  begins,  clean 
pens,  with  floors  to  feed  on  and  good  protection  from  the  storm 
is  absolutely  essential  to  the  success  of  all  who  are  engaged  in 
this  business. 

HORSES. 

After  seven  years  of  experience  in  breeding  and  caring  for 
horses,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  declaring  that  for  speed  the 
Hambletonian,  and  for  labor  or  heavy  work  the  Clydesdale 
take  the  lead.  There  are  other  fine  breeds  in  this  county, 
such  as  the  English  Coach,  the  Norman,  and  Green's  Bashaw, 
as  well  as  others,  and  they  are  all  useful.  It  is  hard  to-name 
the  best  as  we  have  so  many  men  of  so  many  minds — each 
believing  in  his  own  breed.  The  principal  breeders  in  the 
county  are  S.  Dickerman,  Streator,  E.  Hodgson  &  Co.,  Farm 
Ridge,  W.  Pritchard,  South  Ottawa,  Ed.  Lewis,  Deer  Park. 

BEES. 

Much  of  my  time  has  been  spent  among  these  industrious 
insects,  that  are  a  wonder  to  every  thinking  mind.  I  have 
given  attention  to  this  branch  of  husbandry  both  for  the 
pleasure  and  profit  there  is  in  it.  Honey  is  among  the  most 
wholesome  dishes  any  housewife  can  set  upon  the  table,  espe- 
cially during  the  Winter  season.  For  forty  years  I  have  not 
been  without  it. 


148  LA  SALLE  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

Bees  can  be  made  quite  profitable  and  are  by  a  goodly 
number  in  this  county.  I  have  only  the  common  bees,  though 
some  have  used  for  a  time  the  Italian  variety,  and  those  who 
raise  them  for  sale  say  they  are  "  far  preferable,"  but  the  com- 
mon ones  are  good  enough  for  me.  I  have  occasionally  a  bad 
year  for  the  bees ;  such  an  one  was  the  season  of  1879.  Then 
they  made  but  little  honey,  for  some  unaccountable  reason,  and 
hundreds  of  swarms  died.  I  may  safely  say  fifty  per  cent. 
of  the  bees  in  this  county  have  either  died  or  will  die  before 
Spring.  The  best  patent  hive  is  no  protection  in  such  a  case. 

Bee  moths  must  be  guarded  against,  hence  the  price  of 
honey  is  vigilance  as  well  as  effort. 

FRUIT. 

Apples  are  a  necessity  in  every  family  ;  thus  all  reasonable 
men  who  have  any  land  which  they  can  call  their  own,  will 
plant  trees.  Many  sad  mistakes  are  made  with  reference  to 
the  varieties  planted,  as  some  kinds  sold  in  the  market  are  not 
worth  "  shucks."  Those  who  plant  orchards  should  consult 
some  one  who  has  experience,  and  will  give  honest  advice. 

WINE. 

I  make  but  little,  but  raise  quantities  of  grapes,  the  Con- 
cord being  the  leading  variety  with  me.  Peaches  I  do  not 
raise  to  any  extent.  Pears  are  not  a  success.  Strawberries 
and  raspberries  produce  immense  crops, — some  I  ship  to 

Chicago  in  crates. 

FISH. 

The  Illinois  river  furnishes  an  immense  quantity  of  this 
healthy  food.  Thousands  of  young  Salmon  were  put  into  the 
river  during  the  season  of  1879,  in  hopes  of  stocking  the  stream 
with  this  desirable  variety. 

CKEAM    AND    BUTTEK. 

We  have  recently  introduced  the  Cooley  patent  creamer 
and  it  is  a  success.  We  get  more  cream,  and  the  butter  is 
better,  as  the  milk  is  all  skimmed  before  it  gets  sour.  About 


POULTRY.  149 

twenty  per  cent,  of  the  butter  produced  here  is  sent  out  of  the 
county. 

POULTRY. 

The  bronze  turkeys  are  my  favorites,  they  are  hardy  and 
grow  to  a  fine  size.  Nearly  all  turkeys  slaughtered  are  also  used 
here.  I  have  raised  some  that  weighed  twenty-eight  pounds. 

GEESE. 

The  Embden  variety  is  the  best  to  raise,  as  the  birds  of 
this  variety  are  hardy,  and  their  flesh  is  equal  to  the  best.  I 
give  the  geese  "  a  wide  berth."  I  conclude  they  are  not  profit- 
able adjuncts  to  the  farm.  Indeed,  according  to  my  way  of 
thinking,  a  goose  on  the  table  is  worth  half  a  dozen  on  the  farm. 

DUCKS. 

The  Rouen  is  the  most  profitable.  I  have  several  larger 
kinds,  yet  the  former  are  the  most  hardy,  and  are  just  as  good 
on  the  table  as  any. 

CHICKENS. 

For  laying  purposes,  I  prefer  the  Leghorns ;  for  the  table 
perhaps  there  are  none  more  profitable  than  the  "  Plymouth 
Rock,"  as  several  desirable  qualities  are  combined  in  the  latter. 
I  have  a  flock  of  common  guineas  and  a  dozen  pea  fowls  ;  these 
I  need  to  keep  up  the  music  of  the  barnyard,  and  create  a 
commotion  when  any  strange  thing  occurs.  The  chicken 
cholera  is  at  times  felt  more  or  less  on  every  farm;  our  best 
kinds  always  die  first.  While  I  have  lost  turkeys,  guineas,  and 
chickens,  I  have  never  lost  a  duck  or  pea  fowl  with  this  dreaded 
epidemic.  I  guard  against  it  by  keeping  the  henhouse  clean 
and  sweet ;  whitewashing  and  scattering  lime  freely  in  and 
about  their  house. 

FLORAL  HOME, 

was  originally  most  all  prairie.  The  timber  was  in  1834  about 
three  feet  high  ;  it  is  now  about  forty  feet,  straight  and  vigor- 
ous. The  land  is  well  drained,  and  as  productive  as  any  of  the 
land  in  the  county.  I  have  all  the  timber  and  stone  needful 
for  ordinary  purposes.  A  good  quality  of  bituminous  coal  can 
always  be  easily  obtained,  not  remote  from  any  of  our  farms. 


150  LA  SALLE   COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

We  have  some  flat  lands  in  this  vicinity,  but  these  are  being 
drained  and  redeemed.  Hundreds  of  acres  of  this  flat  land  it 
was  thought  a  few  years  ago  would  never  be  worth  much  of 
anything  except  for  pasture.  Several 

MILES   OF    TILE 

have  been  put  in  during  the  season  of  1879  which  we  feel 
assured  will  enhance  the  value  of  such  land  from  forty  to  sixty 
per  cent.  A  good  many  of  our  farmers  have  had  open  drains. 
These  have  proved  valuable,  but  they  are  inconvenient,  and 
every  one  now  is  substituting  tile  drains. 

These  drains,  hand-made,  cost  sixty  cents  per  rod ;  made  by 
new  patent  horse  power  ditcher,  they  cost  something  less. 

FENCES. 

First  we  made  "  sod  fence,"  then  worm  fence.  Later  we 
tried  hedge  fence  (Osage  Orange).  I  have  a  few  posts  (Red 
Cedar)  that  have  been  in  use  thirty-seven  years ;  a  few  rails 
made  and  used  forty-four  years.  Again  we  had  wire  fence, 
and  the  latest  and  most  approved  is  the  "  Elastic  barbed  lock 
wire  fence."  This  last  we  think  will  take  precedence  of,  and 
supplant  all  other  forms  of  fence.  In  the  seven  thousand 
miles  I  have  traveled,  East,  West,  North  and  South,  and  in  all 
I  have  seen  and  learned,  no  place  seems  to  me  better  adapted 
for  agricultural,  horticultural  and  kindred  purposes,  than  this, 
our  beloved  county,  and  our  dear  FLOKAL  HOME  ! 


FARM  IMPLEMENTS.  151 

C.  W.  ALLISON, 

MILLEDGEVILLE,  CABEOLL  COUNTY. 

A  G-rain  and  Stock  Farm  —  now  to  Handle  Barley  —  Corn  Cul- 
ture — Fall  Plowing  Strongly  Advised — Devons  Recommended 
—  Berkshire  and  Poland  China  Sogs  Crossed  —  Horses  and 
Dairying. 

My  farm  is  situated  on  Sections  Thirty  and  Thirty-one, 
Township  Twenty-three,  in  Carroll  county,  and  comprises  two 
hundred  and  twenty  acres. 

The  farm,  as  a  whole,  is  a  grain  and  stock  farm.  One 
hundred  and  sixty-five  acres  are  under  cultivation,  the  remain- 
der being  pasture,  orchards,  building  lots  and  yards.  About 
forty  acres  are  exclusively  devoted  to  pasture,  lying  on  both 
sides  of  the  Elkhorn  creek.  The  soil  is  a  black  loam,  with 
a  clay  sub-soil,  and  is  admirably  adapted  to  the  raising  of 
corn,  oats,  rye,  barley,  wheat,  broom  corn,  buckwheat,  and  all 
root  crops  raised  in  this  region. 

FARM  IMPLEMENTS. 

I  use  the  Gilpin  sulky  plow,  and  the  Dixon  walking  plow. 
My  Gilpin  plow  is  a  three-horse  sixteen  inch  sod  and  stubble 
moleboard.  The  walking  plow  is  a  stubble  moleboard.  I  use 
a  three-horse  drag  similar  to  the  Scotch  harrow,  a  grain  seeder, 
McCormick  reaper,  self-raker,  and  Elward  harvester.  I  use 

THE  HARVESTER  IN  SECURING  MY  BARLEY, 
first  cutting  and  allowing  it  to  fall  to  the  ground  from  the 
binder's  table  (having  the  foot-board  removed).  Thus  it  is 
left  in  winrows  where  it  soon  dries,  and  is  raked  by  a  horse- 
rake,  the  horse  walking  between  the  winrows.  This  leaves  it 
in  small  bunches,  and  these  bunches  are  put  together  by  the 
men  in  heaps,  about  four  small  bunches  to  each.  It  is  allowed 
a  short  time  to  settle,  when  it  is  hauled  and  stacked  or  stowed 
in  a  mow  or  hay-barn. 

CORN    MAY  BE    RAISED   WITH   PROFIT 

two  or  more  years  on  the  same  land  without  changing,  but 


152  CARROLL  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

wheat,  oats,  and  barley,  seldom,  if  ever.  Corn  does  not  ex- 
haust the  soil ;  nearly  all  other  crops  do.  The  ground  intended 
for  corn  should  be  plowed  as  far  as  may  be  in  the  Fall.  In 
fact,  for  any  and  all  crops  Fall  plowing  is  preferable.  It  is 
also  much  easier  for  the  horses  to  do  this  heavy  work  in  cool 
weather.  If  corn  is  to  be  planted  on  Fall  plowing,  the  ground 
is  first  cultivated  with  a  corn  cultivator  (the  Stover  is  prefer- 
red). It  is  then  dragged  smooth  again,  and  marked.  Next 
the  corn  is  planted  with  a  Brown  planter,  after  which  it  is 
dragged  two  or  three  times,  as  required.  The  drag  should  be 
kept  on  the  corn  until  it  is  three  or  four  inches  high.  Then 
from  three  to  five  times  plowing  will  secure  you  a  crop,  nine 
times  out  of  ten,  of  from  forty  to  eighty  bushels  per  acre,  ac- 
cording to  quality  of  soil.  I  raise  from  four  to  five  thousand 
bushels  annually  by  following  this  method  as  closely  as  circum- 
stances will  permit. 

THE    STOCK 

preferred  for  beef  and  milk  is  a  cross  with  the  Devonshire  and 
our  native  cows.  This  gives  a  steer  ready  for  market  at 
any  age,  and  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  —  like  the  Berkshire 
hog.  Cows  raised  from  this  cross  are  far  superior  to  those  of 
any  other  cross  for  farm  purposes.  For  beef,  the  Short-Horn 
Grades  are  more  profitable ;  being  larger,  and  carrying  more 
gross  weight.  They  sell  from  twenty  to  fifty  per  cent,  higher 
than  the  common  native  stock. 

MY    SHEEP 

are  of  the  Leicester  breed ;  commonly  shearing  from  nine  to 
sixteen  pounds  of  wool.  The  carcass  weighs  from  one  hundred 
and  fifty  to  two  hundred  pounds  gross. 

THE  BEST   HOG 

that  I  can  raise  for  early  marketing  is  a  cross  between  the 
Poland  and  Berkshire.  Poland  sows  are  preferred,  and  Berk- 
shire males. 

My  method  of  raising  hogs  is  as  follows :  I  aim  to  have 
my  pigs  come  in  in  April  and  May,  and  allow  the  sows  fhe 
freedom  of  the  pasture.  The  pigs  are  allowed  a  field  of  about 


HORSES  — BEES  — DAIRY.  153 

eight  or  ten  acres  of  corn  to  run  in,  as  soon  as  it  is  hard  enough 
to  be  shelled  from  the  cob  with  their  teeth.  These  pigs  are 
marketed  in  December  or  January  at  an  average  of  from  two 
hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred  pounds.  My  stock  hogs 
are  kept  almost  entirely  on  grass  during  the  Summer. 

MY   HORSES 

are  of  the  Clydesdale  breed.  I  have  six  brood  mares,  all  grades, 
of  the  above  breed ;  five  of  them  being  black,  and  one  of  a 
dark  gray  color,  averaging  in  weight  twelve  hundred  pounds. 
This  breed  of  the  above  weight  secures  to  the  farmer  an  animal 
unsurpassed  for  general  usefulness  on  farm  and  roads,  and  also 
makes  a  showy  carriage  team.  As  for  speed,  a  cow  that  sucks 
herself  is  about  equal  in  value  to  a  2.40  mare  for  a  farmer.  My 
colts  from  the  above  described  mares  sell  readily  for  one  hun- 
dred dollars  and  upward,  at  the  age  of  two  and  three  years  old. 

BEES. 

I  keep  a  few  colonies  of  bees,  not  for  the  profit  there  is  in 
the  business,  but  chiefly  for  home  use.  I  manage  to  sell  enough 
honey  each  season  to  pay  all  expenses  of  hives,  honey-boxes, 
etc.  I  keep  the  Italian  bees. 

DAIRY. 

The  best  breeds  of  stock  for  the  production  of  milk  is  the 
Jersey.  Native  cows  crossed  with  a  good  Jersey  bull  greatly 
increases  the  milk  and  butter  qualities. 

The  region  of  country  in  which  I  live  is  an  undulating 
plain.  The  land  is  gently  rolling,  sufficient  to  drain  itself,  and 
not  abrupt  enough  to  wash  the  soil  from  the  tillable  portions. 
It  is  prairie,  with  here  and  there  a  small  tract  of  timber.  A 
ride  by  carriage  from  our  county-seat  to  the  south-east  corner, 
caused  Dick  Oglesby  to  exclaim,  "  This  is  the  finest  part 
of  the  great  State  of  Illinois."  And  we  believe  that  a  visit  to 
our  section  will  convince  any  unbiased  mind  of  the  truth  of  his 
assertion. 


154  CARROLL  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

C.  L.  HOSTETTER, 

MOUNT  CAEBOLL,  CARROLL  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

Short  Horns  —  Hogs  —  Roots,  Pasture,  Pure  Water,  G-ood  Shelter 
and  No  Medicine  The  Best  Cure  of  Hog  Cholera — Berk- 
shire Hogs  and  Their  Management  —  Fish  Culture. 

SHORT-HORNS. 

I  am  breeding  thorough-bred  Short-Horn  cattle  and  Berk- 
shire hogs  ;  have  also  experimented  in  raising  fish  in  artificial 
ponds.  There  can  be  no  question  but  that  the  Short-Horns 
are  the  best  cattle  for  beef,  and  the  grades  from  a  thorough-bred 
bull  make  the  very  best  beef,  as  the  awards  in  the  show  rings 
fully  demonstrate.  It  is  not  necessary  to  have  very  high  grades;; 
the  half  bloods  or  three-quarter  bloods  from  a  good  bull  are! 
often  larger  than  higher  grades.  To  make  cattle  raising  profit-j 
able  in  Illinois,  we  must  raise  the  best,  and  to  do  that  we  must 
have  thorough-bred  bulls ;  these  are  facts  so  well  established] 
to  intelligent  minds  that  they  need  no  illustration  to  makei 
them  more  patent. 

HOGS. 

I  have  had  much  experience  in  the  care  of  hogs  and  have 
brought  a  fine  lot  through  two  years  of  hog  cholera.  I  am 
convinced  that  with  the  right  kind  of  hogs,  and  with  proper 
care,  Hog  cholera  can  be  avoided.  This  I  say  from  two  years' 
experience.  In  the  first  place  I  had  pure  bred  Berkshires. 

I  do  not  have  my  breeding  stock  fat,  nor  do  I  breed  young 
sows  before  they  are  one  year  old ;  neither  do  I  breed  together | 
those  that  are  near  akin.  I  feed  as  little  corn  as  possible,  and| 
graze  my  breeding  stock  on  rye,  blue  grass  and  clover,  at  differ- 
ent seasons  of  the  year,  letting  them  have  the  range  of  the 
farm.  Hogs  will  find  many  roots  of  weeds  and  worms  that 
assist  greatly  in  keeping  them  in  good  health,  and  enable  their 
systems  to  throw  off  disease.  On  this  account  the  Berkshires  I 
are  the  best ;  they  are  active,  and  if  not  too  highly  fed,  will  | 


FEEDING  HOGS.  155 

go  out  regularly  to  graze  in  the  pastures,  while  hogs  of  other 
breeds  will  lie  about  and  soon  become  sickly  and  diseased.  I 
have  observed  that  my  young  hogs  follow  the  plow  for  sev- 
eral hours  at  a  time  in  the  furrow,  picking  up  all  the  grubs, 
worms  and  roots  which  they  could  find. 

When  the  hog  cholera  raged  in  our  neighborhood,  and  hogs 
were  dying  off  daily,  I  turned  mine  into  an  orchard  where 
nothing  had  been  for  sometime  with  good  effect,  for  the  hogs 
soon  began  eating  the  roots  of  the  common  burdock  that  had 
been  growing  under  some  old  trees.  At  times  hogs  crave  lime, 
and  it  is  a  good  plan  to  give  it  with  ashes,  salt,  and  a  little  sul- 
phur. Hogs  should  at  all  times  have  access  to  water  after 
feeding  corn.  Nothing  is  better  than  a  spring,  particularly  in 
Winter  and  Summer.  As  soon  as  hogs  have  eaten  dry  corn 
they  will  travel  some  distance  to  drink. 

FEEDING. 

Do  not  call  hogs  out  of  their  warm  nests  too  early  in  the 
morning.  Let  the  sun  get  up  first  and  warm  the  air  a  little  in 
cold  weather,  and  do  not  call  them  up  to  feed  until  late  in  the 
evening,  as  in  fine  weather  all  will  not  have  come  in  from  the 
fields  until  dark.  Provide  different  sleeping  places,  so  that  too 
many  will  not  lie  together ;  if  the  places  for  the  smaller  pigs  are 
the  warmer,  they  will  crawl  into  them  through  holes  just  large 
enough  to  admit  them,  and  in  this  way  they  will  divide  into 
several  lots.  That  the  Berkshires  will  withstand  the  cholera 
I  know  from  experience,  and  I  notice  from  the  reports  of  the 
commission  appointed  by  the  government,  and  published  in  the 
agricultural  report  for  1878,  that  the  Berkshires  were  the  only 
hogs  that  did  not  die  of  the  disease  when  exposed  to  it  at  the 
experimental  station.  I  think  that  my  hogs  have  had  the  disease 
several  times,  but  it  did  not  prove  fatal,  and  they  were  enabled 
from  their  healthy  condition  and  strong  constitution  to  come 
out  of  it  all  right.  I  used  no  medicine  except  to  disinfect  the 
premises  occasionally  when  I  noticed  a  disagreeable  smell,  by 
scattering  about  a  little  crude  carbolic  acid.  This  can  be  pur- 
chased by  the  gallon  and  is  easily  applied  as  follows : 


156  CARROLL  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

Fill  a  small  bottle  with  the  acid,  putting  a  quill  in  the  coi 
like  a  pepper  sauce  bottle,  and  sprinkle  it  about  in  pens  an 
manure  piles.  It  is  an  advantage  for  hogs  to  run  with  cattl 
in  which  case  it  is  not  necessary  to  grind  the  grain,  as  noi 
will  be  lost,  the  hogs  getting  what  is  not  appropriated  by  tl 
cattle  and  which  is  better  than  steamed  food.  By  the  wa; 
steaming  or  cooking  food,  except  for  young  pigs,  does  not  pa 
for  the  fuel  used,  or  the  trouble  involved,  and  as  a  gener: 
thing,  good  hogs  will  grow  fast  and  keep  fat  enough  withot 
having  their  food  cooked.  Forcing  hogs  with  highly  nutritioi 
cooked  food  weakens  the  system,  and  makes  them  more  liab 
to  disease.  Sows  with  pig  should  be  well  fed,  and  the  youn 
pigs  taught  to  eat  well  before  they  are  weaned. 

WHEN   A  SOW   FARROWS 

she  should  not  be  disturbed  in  any  way,  not  even  though  th 
time  of  feeding  should  go  by.  Let  her  remain  quiet  until  sh 
gets  up  of  her  own  accord.  In  ten  years'  experience  I  neve 
had  any  trouble  with  Berkshires  when  farrowing.  In  all  you 
operations  use  judgment  and  common  sense ;  of  these  a  farme 
needs  as  much  or  more  than  any  business  man.  He  should  noi 
however,  make  a  slave  of  himself,  but  should  read  and  associat 
with  his  fellow  man  on  all  proper  occasions. 

FISH 

can  be  easily  raised  and  creeks  stocked  with  better  varietie 
than  they  usually  contain,  by  a  very  little  care.  It  is  th 
Spring  floods  and  mud  of  our  creeks  that  cover  up  and  was 
away  large  quantities  of  the  spawn  of  fish.  By  making  sma 
ponds,  where  no  dirty  water  can  run  into  and  deposit  sediment 
a  few  fish,  such  as  you  desire  to  raise,  can  be  put  in  tin 
Winter.  These  will  spawn  in  the  Spring ;  that  is,  nearly  a 
kinds  excepting  trout  and  salmon.  I  have  raised  only  the  blac 
bass  and  sunfish  in  this  way,  and  have  a  pond  now  full  of  3~oun< 
fry  from  bass  put  in  a  year  ago.  This  pond  was  originally 
made  for  an  ice  pond,  is  only  four  or  five  feet  deep,  suppliec 
by  a  small  spring,  and  covers  about  one  acre.  Of  course  i 
would  be  better  if  it  were  deeper,  but  it  is  my  intention  onl] 


NOXIOUS  WEEDS.  157 

use  it  for  ice  and  spawning  beds;  the  young  fish  will  be  free 
go  out  after  the  Spring  floods  are  over  into  a  small  stream 

ar  by,  where  they  will  be  able  to  take  care  of  themselves. 

ore  elaborate  arrangements  are  necessary  for  raising  fish  on 

entific  principles,  but  any  farmer  who  has  a  spring  that  can 

dammed  up,  in  a  location  where  the  surface  water  can  not 

ash  in  dirt  and  sediment,  can  have  a  fish  pond. 


LORENZO  D.  WHITING, 

TISKILWA,    BUREAU    COUNTY. 

Noxious    Weeds  —  Canada    Thistles,   Quack    Grass   and    White 
Daisies —  Urgent  and  Prompt  Necessity  for  their  Extermination 

How  It   Can  Be  Done — The  Switch  Crate — Stanchions 

For  Cows  —  Yard  For  Wintering  Stallion. 

NOXIOUS   WEEDS. 

That  Illinois  may  lead  the  world  in  agriculture  follows 
from  the  fact  that  nature  and  circumstances  have  combined  to 
^ive  her  many  advantages.  In  constructing  a  ship,  great  care 
is  used  to  exclude  any  material  which  tends  to  weakness  and 
decay.  In  the  same  spirit,  aroused  to  the  utmost,  we  should  so 
prosecute  our  agriculture  as  best  to  preserve  our  lands  from 
contamination,  and  transmit  them  unimpaired  and  improved  to 
our  successors. 

There  are  certain  noxious  weeds  which  are  a  bane  to  agri- 
culture, and  if  once  well  established  may  be  set  down  as 
fixtures.  The  cockle  burr  and  Indian  mallow  (sometimes 
called  "cotton  weed,"  "  velvet  weed,"  and  "stamp  weed,") 
.may  be  considered  as  belonging  to  this  class,  and  these  are 
already  sprinkled  over  much  of  our  State. 

But  we  are  now  threatened  with  others  more  dangerous 
and  damaging.  Canada  thistles,  quack  grass  and  white  daisies 
are  a  brood  more  to  be  dreaded,  and  they  are  just  peeping  over 
the  border  longing  for  a  lodgment  in  our  fair  fields.  Canada 
thistles  have  been  prospecting  here  for  some  time,  and  a  few 


158  BUREAU  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

have  stealthily  settled  themselves  in  more  places  than  are  gen- 
erally supposed. 

When  I  left  Western  New  York  thirty  years  ago  this  pest 
was  just  beginning  to  attract  attention.  No  one  seemed  to 
suspect  that  his  field  was  to  be  permanently  invaded.  I 
visited  that  country  recently,  and  found  they  had  swept  over 
the  whole  land  like  a  tidal  wave.  They  flourished  in  the 
lake  sands  and  on  the  clay  bluffs,  in  door  yards,  church  yards 
and  cemeteries,  along  the  highways,  and  peeping  up  between 
the  ties  of  the  railways;  and  logs  or  rubbish  resting  upon 
the  ground  are  speedily  festooned,  matted,  and  buried  with 
their  growth.  Every  neglected  spot  seemed  a  nursery  for  this 
weed.  I  asked  a  farmer  if  his  farm  was  as  badly  infected  as 
others  ?  He  replied,  "  There  are  but  two  patches  on  my  farm, 
one  beginning  at  the  north  end  and  reaching  south  to  the  cen- 
ter, the  other  beginning  at  the  south  end  and  reaching  north  to 
the  first !  "  The  whole  country  is  so  saturated  with  them  that 
many  people  there  think  they  grow  spontaneously,  without 
seed  or  germ.  My  friend  was  not  a  swift  witness  against  them, 
but  in  the  course  of  conversation  he  mentioned  that  on  one 
occasion  he  prepared  a  field  very  nicely  for  oats.  When  these 
were  first  headed  he  looked  over  them  with  pride,  seeing 
nothing  but  a  waving  sea  of  oats.  At  harvest  he  could  see 
nothing  but  a  huge  crop  of  Canada  thistles !  It  produced 
about  thirty  bushels  of  oats,  though  my  friend  confessed  that 
but  for  the  thistles,  he  would  probably  have  had  more  than 
forty.  The  thistles  taxed  him  more  than  ten  bushels  of  oats 
to  the  acre,  besides  the  cutting,  binding,  shocking,  stacking 
and  threshing  of  a  crop  quite  as  bulky  as  and  far  more  trouble- 
some than  the  real  crop. 

Quack  grass  and  white  daisies  are  not  so  generally  distrib- 
uted, and  farmers  exempt  from  them  comfort  themselves  that 
their  thistles  were  a  lesser  evil,  illustrating  Hudibras, — 

We  compound  the  sins  we  are  inclined  to, 
By  damning  those  we  have  no  mind  to. 

The  science  of  farming  there  seems  chiefly  to  be  how  best 
to  head  off  Canada  thistles.  Their  crops,  tools  and  methods 


CANADA  THISTLE  LAW.  159 

are  shaped  by  these  pests.  Summer  fallowing  so  dwarfs  them, 
i  that  the  following  wheat  crop  is  not  much  disturbed.  Two 
;  good  hoeings  save  the  corn  crop.  A  Scotchman  said  that  in 
his  country  they  go  among  the  growing  grain,  and  with  a  spade- 
chisel  cut  them  below  the  surface.  I  met  no  one  so  hopeful  as 
to  suggest  that  they  would  ever  be  exterminated. 

Will  Illinois  in  like  manner  be  inundated?  If  we  tread 
in  their  footsteps,  we  may  read  our  doom  in  theirs.  When  I 
came  to  Illinois  thirty  years  ago,  I  remarked,  that  on  the  first 
appearance  of  Canada  thistles  here,  I  would  move  farther  West ; 
but  when  I  heard  of  them  at  Naperville,  Rockford,  and  Joliet, 
it  excited  my  attention,  but  not  to  the  moving  point.  Eight 
years  ago  a  neighbor,  formerly  from  thistle-grown  New  Hamp- 
shire, came  excitedly  to  my  door  and  announced  that  his  "  son 
had  discovered  a  patch  of  Canada  thistles  about  one  mile  to 
the  west  up  the  valley  of  Rocky  Run."  I  visited  the  farm 
and  found  an  irregular  patch  covering  about  twenty-five  square 
rods.  The  tenant  who  rented  the  farm  had  noticed  them,  but 
had  not  suspected  their  true  character.  Here  was  the  dreaded 
enemy  at  my  door,  but  it  was  inconvenient  to  run,  and  I 
thought  it  quite  as  valiant  to  face  him  and  fight.  My  alarm 
was  communicated  to  the  neighborhood,  it  spread  to  the 
county,  and  through  the  prompt  action  of  the  Board  of  Super- 
visors, a  careful  inspection  was  made  and  patches  were  found 
in  half  the  towns. 

The  next  General  Assembly  passed  a  Canada  thistle  law, 
which  now  rests  upon  the  statute  books,  and  "  rest "  is  the 
exact  word  to  express  the  situation.  In  Bureau  county  these 
thistles  were  exterminated  through  the  machinery  of  this  law, 
and  in  some  others,  but  the  people  have  gone  to  sleep  on  the 
subject,  and  will  not  probably  be  aroused  till  fresh  apprehen- 
sions shall  cause  a  more  startling  outcry.  Still,  it  is  something 
to  have  the  law,  with  its  effective  machinery  ready  to  be  in- 
voked. The  ridicule  of  this  "law  against  weeds"  did  not 
exclude  it  from  going  into  the  Revised  Statutes.  It  rests  upon 
the  same  solid  principle  of  public  interest,  and  public  safety, 
as  do  the  laws  in  regard  to  fires  and  contagious  diseases  in 


160  BUREAU  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

cities.  As  these  can  not  safely  be  left  to  individual  management 
neither  can  we  afford  to  leave  this  vegetable  contagion  to  indi- 
vidual ignorance  and  negligence.  The  public  interest  is 
threatened,  and  the  public  alone  is  compelled  to  deal  with  it 

Because  Canada  thistles  have  not  spread  more  rapidly  in 
>ur  State,  some  hopeful  persons  profess  to  think  our  soil  and 
climate  are  unfavorable  to  their  growth.     This  mere  theory 
should  not  lull  us  into  a  fatal  security.     It  took  two  years,  at 
an  expense  of  more  than  fifty  dollars,  to  kill  out  my  patch  of  a 
few  square  rods;   and  I  do  not  know  that  other  places  were 
more  successful.     About  forty  years  ago  when  the  Illinois  canal 
was  building,  a  straw  bed  was  emptied  near  Joliet.     Canada 
thistles  made  their  appearance  on  this  spot,  and  in  spite  of 
much  labor  against  them,  they  have  spread  out  on  the  bottom, 
up  the  bluff,  into  a  corn  field,  and  the  last  I  heard  of  them 
were  still  "marching  on."     It  is  probable  that  but  few  of  the 
seeds  grow,  else  we  would  have  been  inundated,  but  a  few 
lough  to  endanger  us.     Once  they  find  a  lodgment,  they 
become  to  agriculture  what  a  cancer  is  to  the    human  race 
Common  thistles  are  a  biennial ;  they  grow  from  the  seeds  only, 
first  year  they  are  a  plant;  the  second  year  they  shoot  up, 
blossom,  bear  seed,  and  die,  root  and  all.     The  Canada  thistle 
does  all  this,  except  the  root  does  not  die.     This  is  immortal  I 
s   runners   send    up  new  shoots    at   every  favorable   place.' 
:  holds  all  it  gets  and  gets  all  it  can.     It  thrives  best  on 
moderate  abuse      If  it  has  not  already  proved  its  ability  to 
.ope  with  our  climate  and  soil,  a  variety  will  make  its  appear- 
ance equal  to  all  emergencies.     It  will  get   acclimated   and 
naturalized   and  find  our  rich  lands  a  very  comfortable  home, 
left  until  they  lurk  in  every  by-place,  and  the  d  is 

saturated  with  their  seeds,  ready  to  spring  up  on  the  first  fav- 
orable occasion,  their  extermination  will  probably  severely  tax 
>ur   endurance.     Prevention   is   safer   than   cure!     "Eternal 
vigilance  "  is  alone  our  safety. 

On  my  return  from  New  York  I  watched  from  the  window 

the  flying  tram  to  see  how  far  west  they  had  emigrated      I 

saw  them  all  the  way  through  Canada,  and  ten  miles  this  side 


CANADA  THISTLES.  161 

of  Detroit.  They  do  not  lack  the  means  of  moving.  Every 
through  car,  every  traveler,  box  or  package  —  even  the  birds  — 
may  bring  the  seed.  The  railroad  strips  are  well  adapted  for 
nurseries,  from  which  the  whole  country  may  be  readily  sup- 
plied. 

But  can  they  be  EXTERMINATED  ?  Yes,  where  they  do  not 
seed,  two  years  cutting,  constant  cutting  a  little  below  the  surface, 
through  the  growing  season,  once  a  week,  or  as  often  as  they 
show  themselves,  is  fatal  to  them.  Some  longer  watching  may 
be  needed,  lest  others  come  from  the  seed.  The  old  adage 
must  be  heeded  —  "one  year's  seeding,  nine  years  weeding." 
Taken  early,  they  can  be  exterminated  by  watchfulness  and 
persevering  labor  applied  as  named.  Will  it  pay  ?  A  gentle- 
man of  my  county,  who  knows  them,  says,  if  they  are  to  come 
he  will  give  one  of  his  quarter-sections  to  have  the  other  quarter 
kept  free!  If  some  believe  the  injury  will  not  be  half  our 
land,  let  us  take  the  moderate  estimate  of  ten  dollars  an  acre 
as  the  damage.  This,  computed  on  our  more  than  thirty  mil- 
lion acres,  gives  the  damage  of  seeding  the  State  of  Illinois  to 
Canada  thistles,  $300,000,000.  This  amount,  as  a  State  debt, 
or  mortgage  on  our  farms,  would  strike  the  people  with  terror. 
But  the  thistles  should  be  the  greater  terror.  Mortgages  may 
be  removed,  but  the  other  incumbrance  holds  by  the  hated  law 
of  entail  to  the  end  of  time. 

Our  Eastern  friends  have  some  excuse  for  their  dalliance ; 
but  if  we  let  them  come,  we  sin  against  light  and  knowledge. 
We  shall  receive,  and  deserve,  the  execration  of  all  time,  if  we 
permit  these  fair  lands,  received  by  us  from  the  hands  of  a 
beneficent  Providence  in  virgin  purity,  to  be  polluted,  and 
hence  forever  cursed  with  Canada  thistles  I  (In  some  parts  of 
Europe  they  are  known  as  the  "  cursed  thistle.")  This,  and 
other  noxious  weeds  not  already  naturalized  here,  should  be 
fought  as  we  fight  fire,  cattle  plague,  and  contagious  diseases. 
Indeed,  we  should  put  those  already  among  us,  as  Lincoln 
would  Slavery,  "  in  the  course  of  ultimate  extinction." 

Illinois  farmers  who  are  inspired  with  the  noble  ambition 
to  make  model  homes  and  model  farms,  to  improve  their  meth- 


162  BUREAU  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

ods  so  as  to  keep  pace  with  the  progress  of  the  age,  and  with  the 
onward  sweep  of  civilization,  will  not  be  indifferent  to  this 
threatened  danger  of  a  perpetual  blight  on  agriculture.  Apa- 
thy will  be  fatal.  Safety  will  only  be  assured  from  an  aroused 
public  sentiment,  stimulating  individuals  to  watchfulness  and 
care,  moving  the  press,  agricultural  societies  and  legislative 
bodies,  each  in  its  sphere,  to  do  its  appropriate  work.  With 
all  this  we  need  not  fail,  but  if  we  do,  it  is  at  least  noble  to 
try.  Self  interest,  duty,  and  patriotism  all  speak  with  one 
voice  ;  and  I  trust  it  will  move  to  proper  action  the  intelligent 
and  public  spirited  of  our  noble  State. 

THE  SWITCH   GATE. 

It  is  sometimes  convenient  to  have  a  stable  door  open  into 
a  front  yard,  or  a  rear  yard,  at  will.  I  have  an  arrangement 
to  effect  this  object.  The  fence  dividing  the  two  yards  points 
in  the  direction  of  the  stable  door.  At  the  distance  of  sixteen 
feet  stands  a  post,  as  for  a  gate.  From  this  post  to  the  door 
is  a  panel,  constructed  like  a  gate,  and  hinged  to  the  post. 
As  this  gate  is  too  heavy  to  swing  on  hinges,  a  friction  wheel 
is  placed  on  the  end  next  to  the  door,  and  a  plank  is  laid  for  a 
track,  so  that  it  may  move  easily  from  one  side  of  the  door  to 
the  other.  Turn  this  gate  to  one  side  and  the  opening  from 
the  stable  will  be  to  the  front  yard ;  by  turning  it  to  the  othei 
side,  the  stable  will  open  into  the  rear  yard.  The  stable  door 
should  be  a  slide  door,  or  at  least  it  should  not  open  outward. 
The  "  switch  gate  "  should  have  some  convenient  device  for 
self-fastening,  as  it  is  moved  from  side  to  side ;  and  this  fasten- 
ing should  be  such  as  to  be  easily  opened  from  either  side  of 
the  gate.  As  my  arrangement  for  this  might  not  be  so  well 
adapted  to  another  place,  I  omit  its  description ;  but  will  re- 
mark, that  it  can  be  opened  or  closed  with  ease  by  the  operator 
on  horseback  from  the  side  of  the  rear  yard  where  this  opera- 
tion is  most  needed. 

I  have  in  use  two  of  these  "switch  gates"  to  accommodate 
two  different  openings.  One  is  seven  feet  high,  boarded  close, 


STANCHIONS  FOR  COWS.  163 

so  as  to  answer  when  closed  one  way,  for  an  end  to  a  lean-to 
shed  on  the  east  side  of  the  barn.  This  one  accommodates 
the  work-horse  stable,  and  the  "switch"  only  moves  as  far  as 
the  door  is  wide.  The  other  communicates  with  another  stable, 
and  besides  being  a  "switch,"  is  also  a  gate  opening  one  way, 
so  as  to  give  passage  for  a  wagon. 

• 

STANCHIONS   FOR   COWS. 

This  can  be  used  singly  or  collectively,  at  your  own  pleasure. 
Construct  the  stanchions  in  the  usual  manner,  except  that  you 
omit  the  usual  latches  or  traps  for  holding  the  movable  stan- 
chions :  and  make  these  movable  stanchions  one  and  one-fourth 
inches  longer  than  otherwise  needed,  so  as  to  reach  about 
three  inches  above  the  upper  horizontal  beam.  These  movable 
stanchions  must  all  be  placed  on  the  side  nearest  the  front  end, 
or  entrance  to  the  stable.  On  the  upper  side  of  this  horizontal 
beam  fit  on  a  strong  board  one  and  one-fourth  inches  thick,  as 
long  as  the  beam,  and  about  as  wide,  with  slots  corresponding 
to  those  in  the  beam.  Place  this  board  so  prepared  on  the 
upper  side  of  the  beam,  with  the  movable  stanchions  protrud- 
ing through  the  slots  in  the  board.  Attach  to  this  top  board 
the  usual  latches  or  traps  used  for  catches  to  hold  the  movable 
stanchions  in  their  places.  These  latches  should  be  a  sort  of 
trap  door  to  fall  to  its  place  as  the  movable  stanchion  is  moved 
to  its  place  in  closing. 

At  the  front  or  entrance  end  of  the  stable,  attach  a  lever 
to  the  end  of  this  upper  board,  in  such  a  manner  that  by  work- 
ing the  lever  the  board  may  be  slid  back  and  forth,  moving  on 
the  upper  beam.  It  will  be  seen  that  this  sliding  works  all  the 
movable  stanchions  at  the  same  time,  opening  or  closing  as  the 
case  may  be,  and  when  closed,  each  movable  stanchion  may  be 
worked  in  the  usual  way,  separately  if  desired.  The  lever 
must  be  so  arranged  that  when  the  stanchions  are  closed  it  can 
be  conveniently  fastened,  so  as  to  hold  the  board  in  place.  It 
will  be  seen  that  this  arrangement  combines  the  single  and  the 
collective  method  either,  to  be  used  as  may  be  desired.  I  use 


164  BUREAU  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

this  plan  in  my  stable  for  six  cows,  but  it  is  applicable  to  any 
length  or  number. 

YAED  FOB  WIFTEBING   STALLION. 

To  enable  and  to  ensure  my  Norman  stallion  having 
proper  exercise,  and  mostly  to  take  care  of  himself  when  idle, 
I  constructed  a  yard  forty-eight  by  seventy-two  feet,  on  the 
west  side  of  the  barn,  which  constitutes  one  of  the  forty-eight 
feet  sides.  The  posts  for  this  yard  are  nine  and  one-half  feet 
long,  and  inserted  three  and  one-half  feet  in  the  ground.  On  the 
inside  are  notched  three  two  by  six  horizontal  joists,  properly 
spaced,  and  it  is  tightly  boarded  up  and  down  with  eight  foot 
boards.  In  one  corner  is  constructed  a  stable,  by  using  a  few 
extra  longer  posts  to  give  proper  slant  to  the  roof  which  slants 
outward,  and  this  stable  has  a  door  opening  into  the  yard. 
One  corner  of  the  yard  comes  up  to  the  stable  door  of  the 
barn.  By  means  of  a  "switch  gate,"  (which  constitutes  the 
entrance  to  the  yard,)  this  yard  can  be  made  to  communicate 
only  with  the  stable,  but  when  opened  wider,  it  connects  with 
the  space  outside. 

The  "  switch  gate  "  is  sixteen  feet  long  and  eight  feet 
high,  so  boarded  as  to  correspond  with  the  fence.  The  ends  of 
its  frame  are  timbers  six  by  six,  and  these  connected  by  three 
horizontal  pieces  two  by  six ;  and  braced  with  two  pieces  of 
the  same  size.  It  is  hung  by  a  hook  and  eye  at  the  top,  and 
rests  at  the  bottom  on  an  iron  gudgeon  working  in  a  hole 
drilled  into  a  stone  for  a  foundation.  The  end  of  the  frame 
where  the  gudgeon  is  inserted,  is  banded  with  an  iron  ring. 
The  moving  end  of  the  gate  rests  on  a  friction  wheel  about  a 
foot  in  diameter,  so  framed  into  the  end  piece  as  to  roll  on  a 
track  of  plank  in  moving  the  gate.  This  gate  on  closing  is 
made  to  self  fasten  by  means  of  a  "  catch "  on  a  long  and 
strong  spring  attached  to  the  barn.  This  "  catch  "  is  made  to 
open  by  means  of  a  lever  on  either  side  of  the  gate,  and  on 
the  inside  is  a  bail  or  handle  for  convenience  of  closing  the 
gate  from  that  side.  If  two  or  more  animals  of  this  kind  are 
to  be  provided  for,  this  yard  may  be  made  useful  by  giving  it  to 


YARD  FOR  WINTERING  STALLION.  165 

them  in  turn.  It  will  also  be  found  useful  for  bitting  and  hand- 
ling wild  colts,  and  for  other  and  all  uses  where  an  enclosure 
is  needed  so  safe  and  sure  as  to  be  free  from  all  feeling  of 
insecurity. 

The  cost  of  this  yard  complete  as  described  was  substan- 
tially as  follows : 

2,700  feet  lumber  for  enclosure  and  stable  at 

$16.  per  m.     -  -     $43  20 

260  feet  lumber  for  gate  at  $16.  per  m.     -      4  16 
Hinges,  wheel  and  catch  for  gate  -  2  00 

27  posts  at  25  cts.    -  -     6  75 

Nails  and  spikes    -  4  00 

Labor      -  -  10  00 

Total  cost  $70  11 


H.  A.  COLLINS, 

HAVANA,   MASON  COUNTY. 

A  Grain  Farm  —  Corn  Culture  —  Planking  the  Ground  Puts  it 
in  Fine  Condition  —  How  to  Save  and  Where  to  Keep  Seed 
Corn — A  Cheap  Open  Ditch — Rye  Plowed  Under  a  Valu- 
able Manure. 

I  raise  nothing  but  grain.  The  soil  is  a  rich,  black  loam, 
with  a  hard-pan  from  four  to  six  feet  below  the  surface.  My 
farm  is  situated  nine  miles  southeast  of  Havana,  Mason  county, 
on  "Bull's  Eye  Prairie."  The  climate  is  excellent.  This 
prairie  is  so  situated  that  we  are  not  as  liable  to  early  frosts  as 
many  other  localities.  It  is  sheltered  on  the  north  by  high 
sand  hills,  and  on  the  west  by  wood  land.  .  The  prevalent 
winds  are  northwest.  I  have  large,  commodious  outbuildings 
on  the  farm,  which  make  a  warm  barnyard  for  stock. 
My  horses  are  of  the  Morgan  and  Black  Hawk  breed,  both 
being  easily  kept,  and  free  from  disease,  besides  being  good  and 
true  pullers.  I  give  the  horses  a  mixed  feed,  sometimes  corn 
or  oats  alone,  or  corn  and  oats  ground,  or  else  oats  and  bran ; 


166  MASON   COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

but  I  never  give  two  consecutive  meals  alike.  My  teams 
always  have  a  good  appetite,  free  from  hide-bound,  and  they 
are  never  constipated.  Each  horse  has  all  the  salt  it  needs. 
The  houses  and  buildings  are  on  the  east  side  of  the  farm, 
and  half-way  between  north  and  south. 

COST  OF  RAISING  CORN. 

Corn  seems  best  adapted  to  my  land.  I  rotate  crops  so  as 
to  keep  up  the  quality  of  the  land.  Corn  will  yield  seventy- 
five  bushels  per  acre,  while  wheat  will  only  average  fifteen 
bushels  per  acre.  The  cost  of  raising  one  acre  of  corn  is  as 
follows : 

Breaking  with  a  three-horse  plow     -         -  $1  00 
Rolling,  if  ground  is  cloddy  -  25 

Harrowing,  to  loosen  ground     -  50 

Planting  with  planter,  a  man  and  boy         -      25 
Rolling  again    -  25 

Cultivating  four  times  -  1  60 

Husking    -  -  1  75 

Shelling  1  15 

Hauling  one  and  thre e-quar ter  miles  to  station     75 
Cutting  stalks  with  cutter        -  25 

Sundries     -  -        -  2  50 

Total  $10  25 

Taxes  are  twenty-five  cents  per  acre. 

HOW  TO  GATHER  SEED  CORN. 

Over  my  wagon  shed  I  put  the  seed  corn  for  the  coming 
year,  selecting  it  as  follows:  When  the  men  are  gathering  the 
corn,  they  have  a  large  basket  in  the  back  of  the  wagon,  and 
whenever  they  find  three  good  ears  on  one  stalk,  they  throw 
the  best  one  into  the  basket ;  but  if  two  good  ears  are  on  one 
stalk,  the  better  one  is  saved,  generally  the  bottom  ear,  in 
which  the  germs  are  more  fully  developed  than  in  the  upper 
one. 

Over  the  cows,  hogs  and  chickens,  we  put  the  corn  for  our 
stock. 

My  corn  cribs  are  set  up  on  a  high  stone  foundation,  with 


FARM   OUT  -  BUILDINGS. 


167 


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168  MASON   COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

a  raised  floor  in  the  driveway.  I  have  my  corn  sheller,  which 
shells  for  a  number  of  my  neighbors,  making  at  least  $500 
every  Winter  with  it.  The  granary  has  a  farmer's  carpenter 
shop  up  stairs.  I  have  no  pasture,  consequently  I  feed  our 
cows  in  the  barnyard.  The  water  is  very  good,  and  a  good 
quality  of  coal  lies  near  the  surface. 

When  the  Winter  will  permit  I  cut  my  corn  stalks  with  a 
stalk  cutter  using  a  single  row  cutter,  as  it  does  better  work, 
and  is  easier  on  the  teams.  I  turn  the  stalks  under  before 
Spring,  and  give  the  land  another  plowing.  I  have  found  that 
a  system  of  thorough  cultivation  will  yield  big  profits,  but 
skinning  a  farm  will  ruin  it.  In  the  preparation  of  the  ground 
for  corn  I  plow  with  a  three-horse  plow.  I  never  use  gang- 
plows,  as  I  have  found  them  a  failure,  making  too  hard  work 
for  the  teams. 

PLANKING  THE   LAND. 

The  land  is  then  well  rolled,  but  a  better  plan  is  to  take 
three  twelve  feet  planks,  two  by  eight,  lay  them  weatherboard 
fashion,  bolt  them  together,  put  a  good  stout  span  of  mules  at 
each  end,  and  drag  the  freshly  plowed  ground.  This  puts  the 
land  in  the  best  possible  condition.  I  then  harrow  it  thoroughly, 
roll  it  with  a  light  roller  and  mark  it  off.  I  use  a  planter  with 
a  good  sized  boy  to  drop  the  corn.  I  do  not  use  a  check  row 
planter,  as  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  it  does  not  put  the  seed 
into  the  ground  deep  enough. 

I  plant  the  corn  whenever  I  have  ten  acres  in  order,  and 
by  this  plan  the  crop  is  put  in  without  any  delays. 

In  cultivating  the  corn  I  go  slow,  and  am  careful  not  to 
cover  it,  nor  to  run  too  close  to  the  stalks ;  otherwise  the  side 
roots  will  be  injured,  preventing  a  good  sturdy  growth.  I 
plant  every  year  a  little  oats,  followed  by  wheat.  I  rent  all 
the  land  I  need  for  cutting  grass.  The  rent  of  this  land  is 
one-third  in  the  stack  and  it  pays  me  better  than  to  cut  my 
own  land,  which  is  not  suitable  for  hay. 

CHICKENS. 

My  chickens  are  the  Plymouth  Rocks,  and  they  are  healthy, 


CHICKENS  —  DITCHES.  169 

good-sized,  fair  layers,  and  not  inveterate  setters.  A  cave 
adjoins  the  hen-house  for  the  chickens  in  cold  weather ;  it 
has  clean  nests,  the  inside  is  whitewashed  and  there  is  glass  in 
the  southwest  to  admit  sunshine. 

To  make  my  hens  lay  I  feed  plucks  boiled  and  chopped 
fine,  together  with  a  mixture  of  wheat  shorts  and  boiled  pota- 
toes. Lime  is  air-slacked  and  put  in  boxes  around  the  yard. 
The  water  is  kept  in  rusty  iron  kettles,  and  charcoal  is  sprinkled 
around  the  house  to  disinfect  it.  Scraps  of  meat,  hogs'  heads, 
and  egg  shells  are  put  in  the  way  of  the  fowls. 

DITCHES. 

To  make  a  new  open  ditch,  I  employ  a  good  surveyor  at 
the  start.  I  direct  him  to  run  two  or  three  lines,  and  then  see 
which  will  drain  the  most  land,  with  the  least  ditching,  as  the 
deeper  the  ditch  the  slower  the  water  will  run.  I  always  make 
an  open  ditch  with  plows  and  scrapers.  I  plow  two  furrows 
on  the  off  side,  and  scrape  the  dirt  back  at  least  fifty  feet,  on 
the  side  that  needs  filling  up  the  most.  I  make  the  bank  one 
foot  rise  to  four  feet  back.  I  do  not  have  the  bottom  too  wide, 
eighteen  to  twenty-four  inches  will  suffice,  as  when  the  ditch 
is  full,  no  matter  how  fast  the  top  may  be  running,  the  water 
on  the  bottom  is  nearly  stationary.  And  another  thing,  a  nar- 
row bottom  ditch  is  much  easier  to  clean  out  than  a  wide  one. 
The  banks  must  have  a  good  slope,  or  else  the  musk-rats  con- 
stantly work  and  fill  up  the  ditch.  Again,  a  side  ditch  run- 
ning into  a  main  ought  never  to  empty  at  a  right  angle,  because 
it  will  wash  the  opposite  bank,  and  cause  a  bar  to  form  below 
its  mouth.  A  scraped  ditch  will  not  cost  one-half  as  much  as 
a  ditch  dug  with  spades.  A  good  team  will  scrape  out 
from  fifty  to  fifty-five  square  yards  of  dirt  each  day,  and  carry 
it  back  fifty  to  seventy-five  feet.  I  have  in  the  ditch  one  extra 
man,  to  load  the  scrapers,  to  every  four  teams.  I  do  not  hurry 
them,  but  let  every  scraper  come  out  as  full  of  dirt  as  possible. 
It  will  cost  twenty-two  dollars  to  make  an  open  ditch  half  a 
mile  long,  eight  feet  wide  on  the  top,  and  two  feet  wide  on  the 
level— deeper,  of  course,  through  the  ridges.  This  is  equiva- 


170  SHELBY  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

lent  to  one  day's  work  for  nine  teams,  at  two  dollars  and  a  half 
per  day,  allowing  an  extra  team  for  plowing. 

It  will  never  pay  to  ditch  unless  you  are  sure  of  a  good 
outlet,  be  it  for  an  open  or  tile  drain.  In  tile  ditching,  the 
best  size  is  a  good  six  or  eight  inch  pipe,  end  to  end,  loose 
joints,  and  as  few  curves  as  possible.  In  ditching  it  is  always 
advisable  to  have  the  drain  so  arranged  that  the  water  will  run 
quickly  into  the  drains,  instead  of  lying  on  the  ground  any 
length  of  time. 

WHEAT. 

In  drilling  wheat  I  always  drill  east  and  west,  making  the 
lands  not  more  than  eight  feet  wide,  and  then  all  the  dead  fur- 
rows will  act  as  drains  to  carry  off  the  water.  Above  all,  I 
always  have  good  farm  implements,  and  prefer  to  buy  a  new 
one  rather  than  fix  up  an  old  worn-out  plow  or  cultivator. 

RYE  AS  A  FERTILIZER. 

I  sow  rye  in  corn  in  September,  and  the  next  Spring  turn 
the  rye  under  and  put  it  again  in  corn.  This  has  produced  a 
visible  increase  over  adjoining  land,  where  there  was  no  rye. 
Where  corn  stalks  are  cut  up  in  eight  inch  pieces  and  turned 
under  in  the  Fall  or  Winter,  with  a  good  sixteen  inch  iron 
beam  plow,  it  is  as  good  as  sowing  the  rye. 


W.  W.  THORNTON, 

SHELBYVILLE,  SHELBY  COUNTY. 

The  Redemption  of  an  Old  and  Neglected  Farm — Treatment  of 
Meadow  and  Pasture  Land  —  Large  Crops  of  Wheat  and 
G-rass. 

MAPLE   SHADE   FARM. 

On  the  banks  of  the  Okaw  River,  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
from  the  city  of  Shelbyville,  in  Shelby  county,  is  situated 
one  of  the  old  farms  of  the  State.  A  portion  of  it  had  been 
cultivated  for  forty-five  years,  and  under  the  old  style  of  man- 
agement was  gradually  wearing  out.  Falling  to  the  lot  of  its 
present  owner  in  1874,  a  new  departure  and  cultivation  was  in- 


SUBDIVISION  OF  FARM. 


171 


rt      15  acts 

00 

-Market  Garden 


172  SHELBY  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

augurated.  A  thorough  survey  and  study  of  the  ground  re- 
vealed a  body  of  land  480  acres  in  extent,  and  of  unusual 
natural  beauty.  A  strong  spring  branch,  bordered  by  a  rail- 
road, ran  from  north-east  to  south-west  through  the  grounds 
which  rose  in  gentle  swells  on  either  side,  with  open  blue  grass 
pastures  and  wood-covered  knolls  in  all  directions. 

THE  PASTURES 

were  overgrown  with  shrubs  and  weeds,  and  the  knolls  thick 
with  briars  and  underbrush.  The  fences  were  in  a  dilapidated 
condition,  in  fact  but  for  the  friendly  briars  and  grape  vines 
not  a  crop  would  have  been  safe  from  the  ravages  of  roaming 
stock.  An  entrance  at  the  western  side  made  a  devious  route 
through  the  farm  to  the  house,  turning  to  every  point  of  the 
compass.  Arriving  there  the  view  was  anything  but  enchant- 
ing, broken  down  fences,  dilapidated  out-buildings,  and  a 
practically  roofless  barn  being  the  surroundings. 

CHANGES   BEGIN. 

Deliberate  thought  convinced  me  of  needed  changes, 
which  were  at  once  begun.  A  new  roof  on  the  dwelling  and 
barn,  and  a  pulling  down  of  the  out-buildings  were  the  first 
improvements.  A  substantial  outside  fence  was  the  next. 
This  necessitated  the  entire  removal  of  the  old  and  the  build- 
ing of  a  new  fence,  with  the  corners  cleared  of  briars  and 
bramble,  and  well  sown  with  grass  seed.  Next,  such  an  ar- 
rangement of  the  interior  fences  was  made  as  would  enclose 
fields  of  nearly  uniform  size,  and  at  the  same  time  allow  a  full 
supply  of  water  to  each. 

EASY   ACCESS   TO  THE  FIELDS. 

Next,  such  an  arrangement  of  the  entrances  and  lanes 
as  would  give  access  to  all  or  any  one  of  the  fields  or  pastures 
without  going  through  another.  All  of  these  changes  had  to 
be  made  under  the  directions  of  one  educated  as  a  merchant. 
I  had  to  make  innovations  upon  established  customs,  employing 
men  who  were  confident  they  knew  much  better  what  was 
needed  than  myself.  This  experience  at  times  was  both 


RESTORATION  OF  WORN-OUT  FIELDS.  173 

amusing  and  annoying.  Nevertheless,  the  changes  were  made, 
but  I  am  free  to  confess  that  some  were  right  and  some  were 
wrong. 

RESTORATION   OP  WORN-OUT  FIELDS. 

When  the  fields  were  all  platted  and  fenced,  my  attention 
was  turned  to  the  cultivation  of  the  lands,  which  had  been 
cropped  and  re-cropped  with  corn,  and  an  occasional  sowing 
of  wheat,  until  fifteen  bushels  of  corn  and  ten  bushels  of 
wheat  was  the  average  result.  Fortunately  a  portion  of  the 
farm  had  been  allowed  to  remain  in  grass.  One  of  these  fields 
was  well  broken  in  the  Fall  of  1874,  and  cultivated,  cross  har- 
rowed and  sown  with  red  clover  early  in  May,  1875.  One 
bushel  of  clover  seed  was  used  upon  three  acres.  Late  in  July 
the  fox-tail,  cockle  burr  and  a  coarse  weed  (name  not  known) 
so  covered  the  clover  as  to  nearly  hide  it.  The  hired  man  who 
lived  on  the  place  was  shocked  when  he  was  told  to  take  the 
mowing  machine,  set  as  high  from  the  ground  as  possible,  and 
cut  clover,  fox-tail,  burrs  and  weeds  all  together.  I  used  the 
grass,  clover  and  weeds  for  rough  feed  for  young  stock.  But 
when  the  weeds  were  rank,  say  four  feet  and  over  in  hight, 
they  were  left  as  a  mulch  for  the  clover. 

THE  RESULT. 

The  next  year  (1876)  at  the  proper  time,  a  more  beautiful 
field  of  clover  was  never  seen.  It  was  fairly  crimson  with 
bloom,  and  at  harvest  yielded  the  bountiful  crop  of  three  and 
one-half  tons  to  the  acre,  weighed  as  hauled  from  the  cocks 
after  thorough  curing.  Not  a  burr  was  to  be  found,  and  no 
weed  seeds  having  matured  the  field  was  clean  and  the  clover 
vigorous.  In  1877  this  field  yielded  an  increased  crop.  A 
vigorous  after  growth  was  turned  under  in  August,  and  the 
field  sown  in  wheat  about  the  23d  of  September.  From  it  in 
1878  a  yield  of  twenty-two  and  a  third  bushels  per  acre  was 
harvested.  Finding  a  very  full  stand  of  clover  on  the  stubble, 
a  mower  was  set  about  five  inches  high  which  cleared  the 
clover,  but  all  standing  stubble,  with  the  few  weeds  that  had 


174  SHELBY  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

grown,  were  cut  and  allowed  to  fall  as  a  mulch  and  a  protec- 
tion for  winter.  In  the  Fall  of  1879  this  field  afforded  excel- 
lent pasture,  which  was  allowed  to  grow  and  be  turned  under 
for  a  green  manure  crop. 

THE  NEXT  FIELD, 

forty  acres,  was  newer  land  and  not  so  filled  with  weeds.  It  was 
not  broken  until  April,  1876,  and  when  plowed  was  pulverized 
with  cultivator,  rolled,  and  then  harrowed  until  in  good  con- 
dition. In  May,  timothy  seed,  mixed  with  red  clover,  in 
proportion  of  six  quarts  of  the  clover  seed  to  one  bushel  of 
timothy,  was  sown  at  the  rate  of  one-third  bushel  to  the  acre. 
In  September  the  whole  field  was  cut  over  before  the  weed 
seeds  were  ripe,  the  growth  being  left  as  a  mulch.  At  the  har- 
vest of  1877  this  field  yielded  two  tons  of  grass  per  acre.  Di- 
rectly after  harvest  it  was  thoroughly  harrowed.  In  the  Spring 
of  1878  it  was  again  cross  harrowed,  and  at  the  harvest  it  cut 
three  and  one-quarter  tons  per  acre. 

AN   OLD   MEADOW. 

The  next  field  was  old  and  apparently  exhausted,  on  which 
stood  shocks  of  corn  not  over  five  feet  high,  averaging  less 
than  ten  bushels  of  nubbins  to  the  acre.  This  field  was  treated 
substantially  in  the  same  manner  as  the  meadow.  It  contained 
eighteen  acres.  The  first  six  acres  were  sown  with  pure  timo- 
thy seed,  one-third  bushel  to  the  acre ;  the  next  six  acres  with 
one-half  bushel,  and  the  last  six  acres  with  one  bushel  of  seed 
to  the  acre,  under  protest  from  my  men  as  a  waste  of  seed. 
The  latter  part  of  August,  1875,  the  entire  field  presented  the 
following  appearance :  where  one-third  bushel  of  seed  was 
sown  a  vigorous  crop  of  weeds  entirely  covered  the  grass ;  where 
one-half  bushel  was  sown,  more  grass  and  fewer  weeds,  and 
where  one  bushel  was  sown,  a  crop  of  grass  from  twenty  to 
twenty-four  inches  high  and  nearly  half  weeds.  The  whole 
field  was  cut  with  the  mower  before  any  weed  seed  ripened. 
The  grass  only  from  the  last  six  acres  was  raked  and  stacked, 
yielding  one  ton  to  the  acre,  of  a  poor  growth.  The  grass 


THE  MEADOWS  HARROWED.  175 

from  the  other  twelve  acres  was  left  as  a  mulch.     The  after 
growth  was  clipped  by  sheep  in  the  Fall. 

THE   MEADOWS    HARROWED. 

In  the  Spring  of  1877  the  meadows  were  all  thoroughly 
harrowed.  This  eighteen  acres  having  in  the  Winter  been 
liberally  top  dressed  with  stable  manure,  presented  a  beautiful 
even  surface  and  cut  three  and  a  fourth  tons  of  hay  per  acre. 
Where  the  grass  was  not  thick  enough  it  was  re-seeded.  As 
soon  as  the  harvest  was  over,  a  thorough  cross  harrowing  was 
given  all  the  meadows  to  cover  up  the  scattered  seed  and  fill 
the  unseeded  spots.  At  the  harvest  of  1878  this  eighteen  acre 
meadow  yielded  a  luxuriant  crop  of  timothy  hay  from  four  to 
five  feet  long,  averaging  four  tons  and  forty-nine  pounds  per 
acre,  the  heaviest  going  as  high  as  four  tons,  six  hundred  and 
ninety  pounds.  The  severe  drouth  of  1879  reduced  the  yield 
to  two  tons,  fifteen  hundred  and  seventy-six  pounds  to  the 
acre.  The  after  growth  was  strong,  and  a  full  top  dressing  for 
next  season  was  applied,  with  every  prospect  of  a  good  crop. 

The  next  field  of  forty  acres  had  three  patches  of  tangled 
undergrowth  and  small  timber,  occupying  at  least  ten  acres 
and  encroaching  every  year  upon  the  tilled  ground.  These 
were  cleared  up  and  the  field  plowed  in  April  1875,  the  west 
twenty  acres  being  top  dressed  and  planted  with  Irish  potatoes 
and  cabbage.  The  east  twenty  acres  were  sown  in  oats.  Both 
crops  proved  a  failure.  The  following  year  (1876)  this  field 
was  well  plowed  and  planted  with  corn,  a  part  of  which  was 
only  a  fair  crop.  One  portion  of  the  field,  occupying  about 
twelve  acres,  did  not  yield  enough  to  repay  the  plowing  and  the 
seeding,  on  account  of  the  cold  wet  ground. 

A   GREAT   CROP   OF   WHEAT. 

During  the  Winter  of  1877,  all  the  stumps  were  taken  out 
and  good  deep  ditches  cut  to  effectually  drain  the  field.  In 
1878  the  entire  field  was  sown  in  millet  and  the  result  was  a 
very  poor  crop,  at  least  half  weeds.  After  harvest  the  stubble 
was  broken  with  a  three  horse  plow,  eight  inches  deep,  and  all 
of  the  high  and  rolling  ground  covered  with  stable  manure  at 


176  SHELBY  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

the  rate  of  three  cords  to  the  acre.  This  field  was  then  culti- 
vated, harrowed  and  rolled  until  it  was  in  good  order,  then 
sown  with  wheat,  two  bushels  to  the  acre.  My  repeated  fail- 
ures in  this  field  made  me  anxious  for  the  wheat,  which  was 
therefore  closely  watched.  All  parts  of  the  field  looked  well 
and  grew  vigorously.  Even  on  the  wet  ground  of  previous 
years,  now  ditched,  there  grew  a  luxuriant  crop  to  the  edge  of 
the  ditches.  As  early  as  the  ground  would  admit  in  the  Spring 
of  1879  the  field  was  harrowed,  no  attention  being  paid  to 
crossing  or  following  drills.  My  neighbors  as  they  passed  along 
the  highway  commented  upon  the  probable  killing  of  the  wheat 
with  such  usage.  After  harrowing,  the  wheat  grev/  wonder- 
fully, and  at  harvest  yielded  forty-two  bushels  and  forty  pounds 
per  acre  for  the  whole  field.  The  former  waste  places  along 
the  ditches  were  estimated  at  from  sixty  to  eighty  bushels  by 
numerous  persons  who  came  to  look  at  the  wheat  while  grow- 
ing. The  same  field  after  thorough  plowing  was  again  top 
dressed  with  manure,  rolled  and  harrowed  until  pulverized,  and 
then  sown  with  wheat  drilled  east  and  west,  one  bushel  per 
acre,  then  cross  drilled  with  one  and  one-quarter  bushels  north 
and  south.  It  will  be  thoroughly  harrowed  in  the  early  Spring, 
but  is  now  growing  luxuriantly,  with  every  promise  of  a  more 
abundant  crop  than  ever. 

REHABILITATION. 

The  whole  farm  now  presents  an  entirely  changed  appear- 
ance. An  entrance  gate  near  the  center  of  the  north  side  of 
the  farm,  opens  into  a  broad  carriage  or  wagon  way  bordered 
by  osage  orange  hedges.  On  the  right  hand,  as  you  enter,  is  a 
hospital  lot  of  five  acres,  with  grass,  water  and  shade  trees, 
accessible  from  barn  lot  and  pasture.  Further  south  is  the 
barn  with  plain  sheds  and  lot  of  two  acres.  South  of  this  is 
another  lot  of  three  acres,  reaching  to  a  branch  with  a  never 
ceasing  flow  of  pure  water.  Along  this  roadway,  with  proper 
gates  opening  into  them  on  either  side,  are  pasture  lands  and 
fields.  Passing  south  until  a  large  hay  barn  is  reached,  this 
lane  ends  at  the  timbered  land  which  forms  the  southern  boun- 


REHABILITATION.  177 

dary.  This  was  dense  timber  with  tangled  undergrowth,  but 
is  undergoing  a  gradual  process  of  clearing  for  wood-land 
pasture.  As  it  is  cleared,  the  waste  timothy  seed,  clover,  and 
in  fact  all  kinds  of  grass  seed  gleaned  from  lofts,  is  sown  upon 
it  with  liberal  hand.  The  result  is  a  luxuriant  growth  of  tame 
grass,which  displaces  the  wild  grass,  weeds  and  trailing  vines. 
A  small  herd  of  full  and  half  bred  Jerseys,  with  a  few  native 
cattle,  some  colts  reared  on  the  farm,  and  a  flock  of  Shropshire- 
down  sheep,  peacefully  crop  the  fields.  The  wild  shrubs  have 
disappeared  from  most  of  the  pastures  and  fence  corners. 
Stumps  are  gradually  being  removed  from  the  fields  and  a 
general  improvement  is  visible. 


DANIEL  W.  SEDWICK, 

SUEZ,   MERCER   COUNTY. 

Cost  and  Manner  of  Raising  Corn  —  Burns  the  Corn  Stalks  — 
Harrows  the  Ground  Thoroughly  and  Never  Fails  to  Raise 
a  Large  Crop  —  Meadows  and  Pastures  —  Sheep  —  Hogs  — 
Tile  Ditching  and  its  Cost  Per  Rod. 

I  have  not  a  model  farm,  but  I  am  working  up  to  it  as  fast 
as  my  means  will  permit,  and  if  I  never  reach  it,  will  at  least 
have  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  I  have  made  a  comfortable 
and  convenient  home  for  my  family.  My  home  farm  consists  of 
160  acres,  fenced,  and  is  the  N.  E.  J  of  Section  No.  15,  in  Mercer 
county.  I  began  in  1870,  by  purchasing  forty  acres,  marked 
"A"  in  the  plat,  and  I  have  since  added  "  B,"  "  C  "  and  "  D." 
My  land  was  broken  up  and  fenced  with  post  and  pole  fence, 
which,  however,  has  since  been  replaced  with  a  good  hedge 
fence — osage  orange — and  is  divided  into  five  lots.  "A"  is  a  lot 
of  25  acres  in  pasture  ;  "B"  is  in  corn ;  "C"  is  in  pasture ;  "D"  is 
half  in  meadow  and  half  in  corn.  My  house  is  on  "B;"  "a"  is  a 
lot  of  three  acres,  rolling  ground  through  which  a  slough 
passes,  and  is  planted  in  walnut  trees ;  on  the  north  and  south 

12 


178 


MERCER  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 


side  of  the  slough  are  blackberries  —  Kittatinny  and  Snyder ; 
"b"  is  a  lane  running  through  east  half  of  farm  ;  "c"  and  "d"  are 
also  lanes  ;  "e"  is  a  house  lot  planted  with  evergreen  and  other 
trees  ;  "f "  is  a  garden  with  evergreen  grove  on  west;  "g"  is  an 
orchard  with  over  300  trees,  most  of  them  in  bearing  ;  "h"  is 
the  barn,  and  "i  i  i"  yards  for  cattle,  sheep  and  hogs ;  "k"  is  a 
trough  supplied  from  the  spring  in  "B,"  which  is  tiled  from 

N 


s 

"x"  and  "o"  to  "k."  There  are  also  troughs  in  lots  "iii."  Tile 
is  also  laid  in  "C"  and  "D"  through  a  large  slough,  making 
every  foot  of  land  tillable.  I  make  it  a  rule  to  seed  down 
twenty  acres  and  break  up  twenty  acres  every  year.  In  this 
way  my  land  is  kept  in  good  condition.  With  the  exception  of 
from  fifteen  to  twenty  acres  of  oats  each  year,  and  twenty  acres 
of  meadow,  I  raise  corn  and  convert  it  into  beef,  pork  and 


IMMENSE  YIELD  OF  CORN.  179 

mutton.  I  have  also  one  hundred  and  five  acres  of  land  be- 
sides the  home  farm,  which  are  in  timber  and  pasture.  I  have 
kept  a  correct  account  of  my  expenses  of  raising  corn,  and  I 
find  it  can  be  done  at  a  cost  of  twenty  cents  a  bushel.  My 
plan  of  raising  corn  is  as  follows  :  The  twenty  acres  I  break 
in  the  Fall,  I  harrow  in  the  Spring  with  a  Scotch-hinge  harrow, 
until  I  have  a  mellow,  even  seed  bed.  Then  I  mark  with  a 
four-row  marker  and  plant  three  feet  eight  inches  with  a  Key- 
stone planter,  making  my  corn  3  by  8  each  way,  I  then  harrow 
the  same  way  the  corn  is  planted,  and  in  a  few  days  cross  har- 
row, and  keep  harrowing  until  the  corn  is  four  to  six  inches 
high,  when  I  begin  cultivating  with  a  John  Deere  and  Granger 
cultivator.  I  go  over  the  corn  with  the  cultivator  three  or 
perhaps  four  times  before  the  corn  is  too  high.  I  cut  and  plow 
my  corn  stalks  under,  but  do  not  consider  it  as  good  a  plan  as 
to  burn  them,  for  the  reason  that  the  eggs  of  many  insects  are 
deposited  in  the  dry  stalks  and  will  hatch  out  and  injure  the 
corn.  I  plow,  however,  and  cultivate  my  Spring  plowing  in  the 
same  manner,  stirring  the  ground  as  often  as  possible.  Many 
object  to  using  the  harrow  after  the  corn  is  up,  for  the  reason 
that  too  much  corn  is  torn  out,  but  I  have  tried  every  way 
until  I  am  well  satisfied  that  the  harrow  is  the  best  implement 
on  the  farm  for  working  corn,  until  it  is  six  inches  high.  Very 
few  weeds  will  sprout,  if  two  inches  under  the  ground,  and 
those  near  the  surface  will  be  torn  up  and  killed  by  the  har- 
row, while  corn  planted  three  inches  deep  will  not  be  injured. 

IMMENSE  YIELD   OF  CORN. 

I  have  raised  this  way  one  hundred  and  three  bushels 
shelled  corn  to  the  acre,  and  the  crop  seldom  falls  below  sixty 
bushels.  I  have  pasture  outside  my  home  farm.  I  keep  more 
stock  than  I  can  raise  grain  and  hay  to  feed,  so  I  add  more  to 
my  farm  than  I  take  off,  and  always  have  a  fine  lot  of  manure. 
This  I  haul  on  my  pastures  and  meadows  in  the  Fall,  spread  as 
evenly  as  possible  and  then  by  running  a  harrow  over  it  leave 
it  in  very  good  condition  to  be  taken  into  the  soil  by  the  Fall 
rains.  I  find  Fall  pasturing  to  be  injurious  to  meadows.  Pas- 


180  MERCER  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

tures   are  the  better  for  not  being  cropped  too  close  in  the 
Fall. 

STOCK. 

My  cattle  are  Grade  Short  Horns,  and  are  therefore  raised 
mostly  for  beef,  though  I  have  among  them  some  very  good 
milkers.  But  we  have  no  dairies  near,  and  the  price  of  butter 
has 'not  been  sufficiently  high  to  encourage  giving  much  atten- 
tion to  the  production  of  the  article.  I  keep  a  few  sheep, 
they  are  a  cross  of  Cotswold  and  Leicester,  and  are  good  mut- 
ton sheep  paying  very  well  for  wool.  The  fleeces  in  1879 
averaged  nine  pounds.  I  have  a  shed  for  one  hundred  sheep. 
It  is  one  hundred  feet  long  and  twelve  feet  wide,  closed  on  the 
north,  east  and  west,  and  open  on  the  south.  I  think  open 
sheds  better  for  sheep,  cattle,  or  hogs,  than  closed  stables  or 
sheds. 

SHEEP  SHED. 

A  very  good  sheep  shed  may  be  made  by  Setting  posts 
every  eight  feet,  as  long  as  you  may  wish  the  shed,  in  two 
parallel  rows,  twelve  feet  apart.  Level  the  posts  to  eight 
feet  high.  In  the  center  put  another  row  nine  and  one- 
half  to  ten  feet  high,  side  up  on  north,  east,  and  west.  Lay 
the  roof  double  and  cover  with  half  inch  siding  or  undressed 
sealing.  My  sheep  lots  are  in  a  row  from  north  to  south. 
These  sheds  on  the  north  side  of  the  lots  answer  as  a  fence 
or  division.  My  hogs  are  of  the  Poland-China  breed,  and, 
as  a  general  thing,  have  no  shelter  but  the  open  shed,  being 
fatted  by  following  cattle. 

HOG    HOUSE. 

For  breeding  purposes  I  have  a  convenient  and  good  house 
for  hogs,  which  is  constructed  as  follows  :  First  I  built  a  house 
large  enough  for  storing,  grinding  and  cooking  feed,  then  an 
addition,  as  per  plan,  fronting  south.  Hall  and  pens  covered. 
This  allows  the  feeder  to  pass  along  the  hall  feeding  each  sow. 
The  troughs  stand  through  the  center  of  the  building,  half  in  the 
pen  and  half  in  the  hall.  The  trough  is  raised  high  enough  to 
allow  small  pigs  to  slide  under  and  avoid  being  laid  on  by  the 


HOG  HOUSE  — TILE  DRAINAGE. 


181 


sow.  In  dividing  off  the  pens  begin  on  the  bottom  with  a  six 
inch  board.  On  the  top  of  that  lay  a  board  flat,  say  twelve  inches 
wide,  and  then  finish  siding  up.  This  gives  a  place  on  three 
sides  to  protect  the  small  pigs.  The  yards  on  the  south  are  five 
feet  by  sixteen,  in  which  sows  and  pigs'  can  run  at  will.  These 
yards  if  not  raised  up  and  dry,  should  be  floored.  A  house  and 
shed  of  this  description  will  enable  one  to  raise  a  litter  of  pigs 


COOK  HOUSE. 


AAA  hall  5  feet  wide. 

BB  Row  of  pens  5  ft.  square. 

CC  Yards  5x16  feet. 


tu_;  bi 


early,  which  may  be  weaned  at  the  age  of  eight  weeks ;  the 
sows  may  then  be  bred  again  and  another  lot  raised  later  in  the 
season.  The  first  lot  will  make  hogs  weighing  over  three  hun- 
dred pounds  by  the  first  day  of  January  following.  The  second 
lot  will  be  ready  for  market  the  next  June.  The  best  feed  for 
young  pigs  is  rye,  oats  and  corn  mixed,  ground  and  cooked. 
If  you  wish  to  fatten  hogs,  whole  corn  is  better  than  anything 
else. 

TILE  DRAINAGE. 

When  I  first  began  improving  my  farm,  I  cut  many  rods 
of  open  ditch,  three  feet  wide  at  top,  two  feet  wide  at  bottom, 
and  two  and  one-half  feet  deep.  This  drained  the  sloughs 
well.  The  land  could  be  worked  up  to  the  ditch,  and  the  ditch 
kept  well  open  in  wet  weather,  but  the  first  dry  season  the 
edges  crumbled,  falling  into  the  ditch,  and  by  Fall  it  was  half 
filled  up.  This  did  not  satisfy  me,  and  to  test  tiling  I  put  in 
one  hundred  and  fifty  rods  of  tile  three  feet  below  the  level 
of  the  ground,  filling  in  the  old  ditch  with  a  plow.  Forty  rods 
of  this  I  put  in  six  inch  tile,  one  hundred  and  ten  rods  three 


182  MERCER  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS 

inch  tile,  the  whole  work  costing  me  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars, 
or  one  dollar  per  rod.  This  proved  a  success,  as  I  could  then 
plow  over  the  slough,  making  me  a  square  forty  acre  lot  with- 
out a  foot  of  waste  ground.  I  soon  found  that  four  inch  tile 
would  answer  as  well  as  six  inch,  and  save  one-third  in  the 
cost.  A  four  inch  tile  will  carry  off  all  the  water  that  a  three 
inch  tile  will  carry  to  it.  We  have  very  few  sloughs  that  a 
four  inch  tile  is  not  large  enough  to  drain  thoroughly.  I  have 
since  put  in  nothing  over  four  inch  and  nothing  under  three 
inch.  Last  Fall  I  put  in  two  hundred  rods ;  forty  of  four  inch, 
at  a  cost  of  twenty  dollars  per  thousand,  and  one  hundred  and 
sixty-three  of  three  inch,  at  a  cost  of  fifteen  dollars  per  thous- 
sand. 

To  dig  the  ditch  three  and  a  half  feet  deep,  costs  twenty 
cents  per  rod  exclusive  of  board.  By  this  drainage,  all  my 
sloughs  are  now  dry.  I  have  some  flat  land  that  I  intend  to  tile 
as  fast  as  practicable.  Many  of  our  old  settlers  claim  that  we 
are  going  to  ruin  the  country  by  draining  off  all  surface  water, 
thereby  causing  a  drouth,  but  I  fear  nothing  of  the  kind,  as  in 
a  wet  season,  we  have  plenty  ot  water,  and  in  a  dry  season,  as 
in  1879,  we  can  find  no  water  at  the  depth  the  tile  is  laid. 
How,  then,  can  the  tile  make  the  land  any  worse  ?  One  of  the 
best  counties  in  Illinois  is  Mercer.  The  prairies  are  large  and 
generally  rolling,  soil  rich  and  deep  and  well  adapted  to  raising 
corn,  oats,  grass,  and  wheat  crops.  Where  there  is  no  running 
water,  plenty  can  be  had  by  digging  ten  to  twenty  feet  deep. 
Along  the  streams  is  timber  for  fencing  and  fuel,  and  the  wood- 
land, when  cleared,  is  good  for  wheat,  oats  and  grass.  Our 
titles  are  good  and  land  can  be  bought  for  from  fifteen  to  fifty 
dollars  per  acre  according  to  improvement. 


ORCHARD.  183 

A.  C.  HAMMOND, 

WARSAW,  HANCOCK  COUNTY. 

The  Orchard — The  Sen  -Davis  the  Most  Popular  Apple — Pears 
—  Cherries  —  Plums —  Grape  Fever  —  Fruit  and  Vegetable 
Garden — Value  of  Evergreens  for  Hedges — Hay  Crop. 

If  not  very  numerous,  we  have  at  least  some  model  farms, 
well  supplied  with  fine  stock,  thrifty  orchards,  handsome  and 
commodious  buildings,  in  Hancock  county.  The  northern  and 
eastern  portions  are  well  adapted  to  corn  and  stock  growing, 
and  are  mainly  devoted  to  this  industry,  while  the  southwest 
corner,  along  the  Mississippi  bluff,  is  one  of  the  finest  fruit- 
growing sections  in  the  State,  and  boasts  of  a  number  of  large 
and  productive  orchards.  From  them  have  been  gathered  the 
fine  collections  of  fruit  that  have  taken  so  many  premiums 
and  received  so  many  commendations,  during  the  past  five 
years,  at  the  State  Fairs,  State  Horticultural  Societies,  and 
Winter  meetings  of  the  State  Board  of  Agriculture.  Some  of 
the  finest  consignments  of  apples  that  have  gone  to  the  St. 
Louis  market  have  been  from  this  point. 

ORCHARD. 

My  own  specialty  is  the  orchard,  in  which  I  have  been 
moderately  successful.  My  orchard  consists  of  seventy  acres, 
planted  at  different  times  from  1857  to  1877,  the  larger  portion 
of  it  now  being  in  its  prime.  It  is  located  three  miles  from 
the  bluff  of  the  Mississippi  river,  on  land  that  was  originally 
covered  with  hazel,  crab-apple,  and  wild  plum. 

The  Ben  Davis  apple  has  been  more  extensively  planted 
than  any  other  variety.  Winesap,  Jeannet,  Willow  Twig,  Red 
Canada,  Jonathan,  Rambo,  Fryer's  Red,  Maiden's  Blush,  Red 
Astrachan  and  Sops  of  Wine  coming  next.  I  have  200  varie- 
ties growing  in  my  orchard,  at  least  three-fourths  of  them 
being  for  experimental  purposes  only,  and  I  am  yearly  adding 


184  HANCOCK  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

every  thing  that  promises  to  be  of  value,  hoping  yet  to  find 
the  coming  apple,  i.  e.,  an  apple  combining  the  size,  color, 
hardiness  and  productiveness  of  the  Ben  Davis,  with  the  crisp, 
delicate  flesh  and  superior  flavor  of  some  of  our  best  sorts, 
like  the  Red  Canada  or  Jonathan. 

The  Ben  Davis  is  the  most  popular  market  apple  in  this 
locality,  and  in  common  with  other  orchardists,  I  have  planted 
largely  of  it,  'but  do  not  think  it  advisable  to  exclude  better 
varieties,  as  the  time  may  not  be  far  distant  when  it  will  be  a 
drug  in  the  market,  on  account  of  its  poor  quality  and  the 
great  quantities  grown. 

Commercial  orcharding,  in  the  hands  of  the  specialist, 
generally  proves  to  be  profitable,  but  in  the  hands  of  the  aver- 
age farmer  it  is  often,  a  failure.  This  arises  from  the  fact  that 
the  countless  hordes  of  insects  that  prey  upon  the  tree  and 
fruit,  and  the  numerous  diseases  the  trees  are  subject  to,  re- 
quires more  attention  than  farmers  can  or  will  bestow  upon 
them.  From 

FOUR  OR  FIVE  ACRES  OF  MY  BEN  DAVIS   ORCHARD 

I  have  gathered  the  past  season  six  hundred  bushels  per  acre, 
which,  of  course,  gives  an  enormous  profit.  But  it  must  be 
borne  in  mind,  that  while  four  or  five  acres  yielded  a  profit  of 
two  or  three  hundred  dollars  per  acre,  the  remaining  sixty-five 
or  six  did  not  give  a  profit  of  ten  dollars  per  acre.  I  have  not 
found  any  branch  of  horticulture  profitable,  except  apple 
growing.  After 

TWENTY   YEARS   EXPERIENCE, 

I  have  concluded  that  peach  growing  for  commercial  purposes 
does  not  pay,  as  we  can  not,  in  this  climate,  rely  upon  having 
a  crop  oftener  than  one  year  in  three  or  four. 

PEAR    TREES 

suffer  so  severely  from  blight  that  I  have,  after  losing  hundreds 
of  them,  concluded  to  give  up  growing  this  delicious  fruit  for 
market. 

EARLY   RICHMOND   OR   EARLY  MAY 

is   the   only   cherry    worth   growing   for  market   purposes  in 


GRAPES  — THE  LAWN  185 

central  Illinois.  But  owing,  to  the  cost  of  gathering,  trans- 
portation and  the  low  price  which  they  usually  bring,  even  this 
variety  does  not  often  prove  remunerative.  I  have  four  hun- 
dred thrifty,  bearing  trees,  but  they  yield  little  or  no  profit. 

Ten  years  ago  I  planted  four  hundred  European  plum 
trees  of  the  most  approved  sorts,  but  the  hard  Winters  that 
followed  swept  them  out  of  existence.  Some  of  the  native 
varieties,  like  Miner  and  Wild  Goose,  are  hardy,  but  the 
ravages  of  the  curculio  precludes  the  possibility  of  getting 
any  fruit.  When 

THE  GRAPE  FEVER 

was  at  its  hight,  I  had  it  badly,  and  planted  largely  of  all  the 
highly-lauded,  high-priced  sorts,  trenching,  subsoiling,  and 
underdraining  in  the  most  approved  manner,  and  at  great 
expense.  All  have  fallen  victims  to  our  Arctic  Winters  but 
the  Concord,  which  continues  to  produce  annual  crops  of  fine 
fruit,  but  on  account  of  the  low  price  at  which  the  fruit  is  sold, 
I  have  reduced  the  variety  to  about  one  acre. 

WIND-BREAK. 

My  farm  consists  of  about  two  hundred  acres,  and  is 
divided  into  fields  ranging  from  twenty  to  forty  acres.  It  is 
inclosed  and  divided  by  osage  orange  hedges.  On  the  north 
and  west  of  the  orchards  it  is  allowed  to  grow  high,  the  sides 
being  trimmed  out  of  the  way,  to  form  a  wind-break,  but  on 
the  road,  and  where  used  as  a  division  fence,  it  is  kept  down 
to  about  four  feet.  If  permitted  to  grow  untrimmed,  it  gives 
the  farm  a  slovenly,  unkempt  appearance,  and  draws  so  heavily 
on  the  soil  for  one  or  two  rods  on  each  side,  as  to  make  it 
impossible  to  grow  any  crop  successfully. 

THE   LAWN 

is  inclosed  with  an  evergreen  hedge  of  Norway  spruce,  planted 
two  feet  apart,  and  kept  sheared  down  to  three  and  a  half  feet, 
with  a  width  at  the  base  of  about  three  feet.  After  it  is  once 
established  it  requires  but  little  attention  (two  shearings  a 
year),  and  is  a  thing  of  beauty,  both  Summer  and  Winter. 
The  garden  is  also  partly  inclosed  with  a  similar  hedge,  but  of 


186  HANCOCK  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

arbor  vitgB  in  place  of  spruce.  This  makes  a  handsome  hedge 
in  Summer,  growing  rapidly  and  bearing  shearing  remarkably 
well,  but  turns  brown  in  Winter.  I  also  have  several  hundred 
evergreens,  from  three  to  twenty  years  planted,  growing  about 
my  farm  and  buildings,  for  wind-breaks  and  ornament.  They 
are  principally  spruce,  white,  Scotch  and  Austrian  pine,  hem- 
lock, balsam  fir,  arbor  vitae  and  juniper. 

Evergreens,  whether  planted  for  wind-breaks,  hedges  or 
ornament,  give  an  air  of  taste  and  comfort  to  the  farmer's 
home  that  can  be  secured  in  no  other  way,  and  add  tenfold 
their  cost  to  its  money  value. 

THE   GARDENS. 

One-fourth  of  an  acre  is  devoted  to  a  vegetable  garden, 
half  as  much  to  a  flower  garden,  and  an  acre  to  a  fruit  garden. 
The  latter  is  planted  to  strawberries,  raspberries,  blackberries, 
currants  and  gooseberries.  In  prolific  years  the  yield  of  fruit 
is  greater  than  my  family  can  consume,  but  in  seasons  of  short 
crops  the  space  devoted  to  the  fruit  garden  will  be  found  none 
too  great  to  supply  a  large  famil}7,  with  an  occasional  basket 
over  for  a  friend. 

THE  WARSAW  HORTICULTURAL   SOCIETY 

is  a  live,  energetic  association,  organized  primarily  for  the 
purpose  of  encouraging  the  planting  of  commercial  orchards 
and  vineyards.  It  has  been  eminently  successful  in  furthering 
this  object,  and  within  its  territory  may  be  found  some  of  the 
largest  orchards  and  vineyards  in  the  State.  It  has  also  done 
much  toward  developing  a  taste  for  fruit  and  vegetable  garden- 
ing, floriculture  and  ornamental  planting,  and  its  influence  is 
seen  all  over  the  adjacent  country,  in  the  better  kept  grounds, 
and  the  general  improved  appearance  of  the  homes  of  our 
well-to-do  farmers. 

HAY. 

Outside  of  the  orchard,  I  devote  most  of  my  farm  to  grass, 
converting  it  into  hay  for  the  Southern  market.  Clear  timothy 
yields  on  an  average  about  one  and  one-fourth  tons  per  acre, 
which  at  $  15  per  ton  in  St.  Louis,  is  considered  a  fair  return. 


SUCCESSFUL  CORN  CULTURE.  187 

During  the  years  1877  and  '78  hay  did  not  pay  the  cost  of  pro- 
duction. This  fact  caused  many  of  our  farmers  to  plow  up 
their  meadows  and  turn  their  attention  to  other  crops.  As  a 
natural  result,  hay,  in  the  Fall  of  '79,  brought  $18  to  $20  per 
ton  in  that  market.  This  crop,  grown  and  taken  from  the 
farm,  year  after  year,  is  very  exhausting  to  the  soil,  but  if 
mixed  with  clover,  the  yield  is  greater,  and  the  drain  much 
less,  but  the  price  of  the  hay  is  materially  lessened  also;  I 
shall,  however,  hereafter  grow  mixed  hay,  as  it  is  undesirable 
to  draw  so  heavily  on  the  reserve  fund  of  the  soil— a  fund  that 
should  be  carefully  husbanded  for  future  use. 


H.  K.  MARSTON, 

ONARGA,   IROQUOIS  COUNTY. 

Successful  Corn  Culture  —  How  Twelve  Thousand  Bushels  of 
Corn  were  raised  from  One  Hundred  and  Sixty  Acres  — 
Culture  of  Small  Fruit. 

There  is  an  old  saying,  "  He  is  the  benefactor  of  his  race, 
who  causes  two  blades  of  grass  to  grow  where  one  grew 
before."  I  believe  this  applies,  with  equal  force,  to  him  who 
produces  two  bushels  of  corn  where  one  was  grown  before. 
While  it  is  eminently  proper  to  encourage  a  love  of  esthetics 
in  our  farmers,  to  urge  them  to  beautify  their  homes,  to 
provide  picturesque  as  well  as  comfortable  shelter  for  their 
children,  and  their  cattle,  yet,  as  "money  makes  the  mare  go," 
large  yields  of  the  fruits  of  the  earth  are  at  the  bottom  of 
agricultural  prosperity ;  and  as  it  is  impossible  for  me,  within 
the  limits  of  a  short  article,  to  construct  an  elaborate  treatise 
on  agriculture  in  all  its  various  departments,  I  propose  to  con- 
fine myself  to  the  cultivation  of  our  great  staple  —  Indian  corn. 

I  remember  a  valuable  lesson  that  I  was  taught  by  a 
neighbor  more  than  twenty  years  ago.  We  were  both  com- 
paratively young,  and  had  just  opened  new  farms  on  the  virgin 
prairie.  We  had  all  the  land  we  could  use,  and  employed  no 


188  IROQUOIS  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

help  during  the  growing  season.  Each  desired  to  get  the 
largest  returns  for  his  labor,  and  was  willing  and  able  to  do  a 
large  amount  of  work. 

We  met  at  a  picnic  on  the  4th  of  July,  and  the  conversa- 
tion naturally  turned  to  the  subject  we  were  both  most  inter- 
ested in,  our  crops.  He  asked  me  how  much  corn  I  had  in? 
I  answered,  "Sixty  acres;  how  much  have  you  ?"  "Thirty!" 
"  What  have  you  been  doing  all  Summer?"  "  I'll  show  you 
when  we  get  to  husking  !  "  He  then  went  on  to  say,  "  I  have 
ten  acres  that  I  have  worked  six  times,  and  twenty  acres,  four 
times.  I  intend  to  go  through  it  all  once  more,  and  lay  it 
by  "  I  worked  all  of  mine  twice,  and  a  part  of  ii  three  times. 
I  did  not  think  it  necessary  to  cultivate  corn  much  when  the 
land  was  clean,  for  I  had  the  idea  that  the  main  object  in  cul- 
tivating was  to  kill  weeds.  When  the  crop  was  ripe,  my 
neighbor  procured  help  and  cribbed  his  corn  before  bad 
weather  came  on.  His  ten  acres  produced  about  one  hundred 
bushels  per  acre,  and  his  twenty  acres,  sixty  bushels  :  in  all 
about  2,200  bushels  of  corn  from  thirty  acres.  I  was  all  Win- 
ter husking,  and  did  not  have  from  my  sixty  acres  over  2,000 
bushels  After  that  I  tried  his  plan,  and  have  raised  as  high 
as  ninety  bushels  an  acre,  simply  by  thorough  and  frequent 
cultivation  Actual  results  are  more  convincing  than  any 
theories  or  arguments  unsupported  by  such  evidence.  Many 
assertions  have  been  made,  as  to  how  cheaply  corn  can  be 
grown  on  these  prairies ,  cases  in  point  have  been  given  on 
experimental  cultivation  of  small  patches,  but  I  will  now 
give  the  results  of  a  good  system  of  cultivation  on  a  fair-sized 
scale,  how  it  was  done,  and  with  what  kind  of  tools,  so  that 
any  one  can  "go  and  do  likewise." 

D.  K.  PEARSON'S  CORN  FARM. 

•D.  K.  Pearsons,  of  Chicago,  has  a  farm  of  a  section  (640 
acres)  not  a  day's  ride  from  this  place.  It  is  managed  by  one 
of  the  most  practical  corn  growers  that  I  know  of.  In  1872 
he  told  me  that  he  cribbed  twelve  thousand  bushels  of  corn 
grown  that  season  from  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land. 


D.  K.  PEARSON  S  CORN  FARM.  189 

He  tells  me  that  in  1879  he  had  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres 
in  corn,  and  I  give  his  statement  of  how  he  did  it,  and  the 
results.  He  says :  "  I  believe  in  Fall-plowed  land  for  corn. 
I  had  about  fifty  acres  Fall  plowed  last  Spring  that  I  planted 
to  corn,  and  one  hundred  acres  Spring-plowed.  The  Fall-plowed 
I  worked  as  follows  :  I  fastened  two  Dixon  harrows  together 
with  devices,  side  by  side ;  these  I  attached  to  a  light  bob 
sled  (the  front  bob)  by  two  poles,  one  end  to  each  drag,  bring- 
ing the  forward  ends  of  the  poles  together,  and  securing  them 
to  the  bolster  of  the  bob  sled ;  this  enabled  me  to  make  short 
turns,  the  harrow  thus  covering  about  twenty  feet  in  width. 
To  the  tongue  I  hitched  six  horses,  four  abreast,  and  one  pair 
for  leaders  -,  then  I  placed  the  driver  on  the  bolster,  where  he 
could  control  his  team  and  set  them  to  work.  The  soil,  being 
the  ordinary  black  prairie  loam,  was  rather  wet  and  sticky  at 
the  start,  and  I  had  it  harrowed  over  once,  and  let  it  be  a 
couple  of  daysj  then  cross-harrowed  it  thoroughly.  With  this 
rig,  I  could  put  about  twenty  acres  per  day  in  very  fine  condi- 
tion for  planting.  This  was  planted  between  the  fifth  and 
tenth  day  of  May,  in  rows  three  feet  ten  inches  apart,  dropping 
about  two  kernels  every  two  feet  in  the  row. 

"  Immediately  after  planting,  before  the  corn  had  sprouted, 
I  cultivated  the  rows,  running  the  shovels  four  or  five  inches 
deep,  as  close  to  the  rows  as  possible ,  then,  after  five  or  six 
days,  before  the  corn  showed  above  the  ground,  I  cross-har- 
rowed thoroughly,  and  harrowed  again,  soon  after  the  corn 
came  up.  As  soon  as  the  rows  could  be  well  followed,  I  set 
the  cultivators  at  work ;  plowed  about  once  a  week,  set  the 
teeth  of  the 'cultivator  so  as  to  draw  the  earth  a  little  toward 
the  corn,  until  about  the  fifteenth  of  June,  when  the  corn  was 
fifteen  inches  high.  I  then  took  a  stirring  plow,  with  short 
share,  so  as  not  to  cut  the  corn  roots  more  than  necessary,  and 
plowed  to  the  rows,  making  good  ridges,  and  so  called  it  'laid  by.' 

"  The  one  hundred  acres  I  plowed  in  Spring,  as  soon  as 
the  condition  of  the  soil  would  admit,  and  planted  between  the 
tenth  and  eighteenth  of  May.  I  harrowed  it  well  before  plant- 
ing, and  again  after;  then  plowed  (cultivated)  four  times,  as 


190  IROQUOIS  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

before  stated,  only  that  I  ridged  all  I  could,  with  the  culti- 
vator, instead  of  using  stirring  plow. 

"  During  the  growing  season,  the  Spring-plowed  presented 
much  the  better  appearance;  the  corn  attaining  a  hight  of 
about  ten  feet,  and  the  ears  hanging  five  to  six  feet  above 
ground,  while  the  other  was  only  about  eight  feet  high,  with 
ears  about  three  feet  above  ground.  But  the  latter  came  in 
well  on  the  home  stretch,  the  ears  being  very  uniform  in  size 
and  weighing  fourteen  to  eighteen  ounces  each.  The  fifty 
acres  thus  averaged  seventy  bushels  of  sound,  well  matured 
corn  per  acre,  while  the  one  hundred  acres,  Spring-plowed, 
turned  about  fifty  bushels  to  the  acre. 

"  I  am  satisfied  that  Fall-plowed  land  is  preferable  to 
Spring-plowed,  for  corn ;  the  latter  can  thus  be  planted  earlier, 
and  will  be  in  much  better  condition  for  planting  and  cultivat- 
ing. Every  farmer  knows  the  beneficial  effects  of  freezing  and 
exposure  to  atmospheric  influences  on  the  soil.  Although  the 
Spring-plowed  was  planted  five  to  ten  days  later  than  the 
other,  it  was  up  as  soon,  and,  at  any  time  during  the 
season,  the  casual  observer  would  have  called  it  the  better 
crop ;  yet  it  was  not,  by  fully  twenty  per  cent. 

"  The  principal  part  of  the  labor  in  producing  corn  should 
be  done  early.  Thorough  harrowing,  at  the  time  of  planting, 
stirring  the  ground  deeply  with  cultivators  soon  after,  cultivat- 
ing it  often  while  small,  before  it  has  thrown  out  its  brace 
roots,  and  leaving  the  ground  in  good  shape  for  them  to  pene- 
trate far  and  wide,  is,  in  my  estimation,  the  way  to  get  the 
largest  yield  in  husking  time.  I  would  not  discuss  '  Hilling 
versus  Level  Cultivation  '  at  all ;  the  same  object  may  be  ac- 
complished in  either  way. 

"  In  this  country  farmers  attempt  too  much,  and  the  result 
is,  the  average  of  the  State,  in  a  fair  season,  is  less  than  thirty 
bushels  per  acre,  instead  of  fifty  bushels  or  more,  as  it  should 
be.  Employ  help  at  the  proper  time  and  it  will  always  pay. 
I  only  oversee  my  work,  and  I  hire  every  thing  done  except 
this  -,  yet  my  expenses  in  raising  this  crop  do  not  exceed  eight 
cents  per  bushel  in  the  crib." 


DRAINAGE.  191 

I  fully  concur  in  the  foregoing.  My  sixty-acre  experience, 
as  stilted,  was  conclusive  with  me  ;  and  I  can  point  to  very 
many  who  are  doing  the  same  thing  year  after  year.  In  very 
favorable  seasons,  they  succeed  well,  but  ordinarily  the  weeds 
get  the  start,  and  they  only  succeed  in  cultivating  a  small  por- 
tion of  the  driest  part  of  their  farms.  Their  richest  lands 
grow  up  to  weeds,  and  the}r  drive  over  four  acres,  in  husking 
time,  to  gather  what  should  be  gathered  from  one. 

DRAINAGE. 

Our  prairies  are  not  dead  levels  ;  there  can  not  be  a  rise  in 
the  surface  without  a  corresponding  hollow.  These  swales  or 
sloughs,  between  the  rolls,  are  the  richest  portions  of  our  lands, 
but  they  take  the  seeping  from  the  higher  ground  adjacent, 
and  are  actually  wetter  than  the  flatter  lands.  Almost  every 
farmer  plows,  plants,  cultivates,  and  harvests  from  ten  to  thirty 
per  cent,  of  his  land,  that  yields  him  little,  if  any  thing,  ex- 
cept in  the  driest  seasons.  This  is  the  principal  reason  that 
our  average  is  so  low,  but  the  remedy  is  very  simple.  There 
is  very  nearly,  if  not  quite,  enough  labor  expended  in  cultivat- 
ing this  kind  of  land  each  year,  to  drain  it  thoroughly,  thereby 
rendering  the  farmer  independent  of  the  season.  In  many 
cases,  one  farmer  can  not  drain  alone ;  his  outlet  is  across  his 
neighbor's  land,  who,  like,  the  "  dog  in  the  manger,"  will 
neither  do  himself  nor  allow  others  to  do ;  or,  who  is  so  selfish 
that  he  will  wait  for  his  neighbor  to  expend  time  and  money, 
while  he  (the  selfish  one)  reaps  the  benefit.  Systematic  unity 
is  requisite  to  success.  Drainage  laws  are  needed,  but  many 
will  suffer  loss  year  after  year,  rather  than  have  a  quarrel  with 
their  neighbors. 

The  time  is  coming  when  we  shall  have  a  thorough  system 
of  drainage,  then  thorough  cultivation  will  be  the  rule  instead 
of  the  exception,  and  one  hundred  bushels  of  corn  to  the  acre 
will  not  be  an  exceptional  yield,  as  it  is  now. 

SMALL  FRUITS. 

I  will  add  a  few  words  on  the  culture  of  small  fruits, 
especially  strawberries.  Much  has  been  said  and  written  on 


192  IROQTJOIS  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

"  matted  rows  "  and  hill  culture.  "Without  arguing  the  points 
I  will  simply  poll  my  vote  for  rows  every  time. 

All  strawberry  growers  agree  that  this  plant  requires 
enormous  quantities  of  water  to  grow  successfully.  I  prefer 
to  discuss  the  subject  by  stating  actual  experience. 

The  first  successful  strawberry  grower  in  this  locality  re- 
sided about  six  miles  from  the  railroad.  A  farmer's  wife  put 
out  about  one-quarter  of  an  acre,  and  succeeded  so  well 
that  she  increased  to  one  acre.  This  was  about  fifteen  years 
ago.  The  result  in  this  case  was  a  fine  new  house  and  com- 
modious barn,  paid  for  almost  entirely  with  strawberries  in 
about  five  years. 

The  next  example  was  a  dentist,  who,  having  a  large  lot 
in  town,  planted  out  about  an  acre.  The  land  was  wet  and 
sandy ;  about  one-half  of  the  plants  were  drowned,  but  the 
other  half  astonished  the  natives.  From  less  than  half  an 
acre  he  sold  110  bushels  of  strawberries  at  an  average  of  $10 
per  bushel — over  $1,100. 

This  gave  an  impetus  to  the  business,  and  almost  every 
one  who  had  a  spare  rod  of  ground  set  it  to  strawberries,  until 
there  were  about  200  acres  of  this  crop  in  this  village.  In  1875 
I  procured  seven  car-loads  of  box  stuff,  in  the  flat,  to  ship  the 
fruit  in,  and  about  350,000  quart  boxes  and  12,000  cases,  or 
crates,  to  put  them  in. 

The  rainy  season  injured  the  crop  seriously,  and  the  hard 
times  so  depressed  prices  that  very  many  plowed  up  their 
patches,  and  at  present  there  is  less  than  half  the  former 
amount  of  land  devoted  to  the  crop. 

It  has  been  demonstrated  beyond  a  doubt  that  all  land  is 
not  suited  to  this  business,  and  that  with  that,  as  with  other 
crops,  it  requires  work,  arid  work  done  at  the  right  time.  One 
of  our  most  successful  growers  had  a  lot  of  about  two-thirds 
of  an  acre  of  sandy  land  that  had  been  richly  manured  and 
planted  in  garden  stuff  for  years.  This  lot  produced  nearly 
one  hundred  bushels  per  crop  for  several  successive  years.  He 
was  so  pleased  that  he  rented  three  acres,  set  out  and  culti- 
vated them  thorougly.  At  harvest  his  first  picking  yielded 


SMALL  FRUITS.  193 

very  well,  but  on  going  over  the  second  time  he  picked  about 
twenty  crates  (twenty-four  quarts)  from  his 'two-thirds  of  an 
acre  of  sandy  land,  and  only  three  or  four  from  the  three  acres 
of  black  loam.  The  result  has  been  the  same  on  many  lots  of 
similar  land — great  loss  to  the  grower  who  attempted  it.  And 
it  is  patent  now  to  all,  that  the  plant  requires  so  much  water 
that  our  ordinary  prairie  soil  can  not  supply  it.  Another  point 
is  equally  well  established:  That,  to  insure  success,  a  thorough 
course  of  cultivation  as  in  other  crops  and  heavy  manuring  dur- 
ing that  time,  is  very  necessary. 

I  will  give  my  mode  of  treatment,  and  the  results,  on  a 
small  lot  of  about  half  an  acre.  The  land  is  a  light  sand, 
rather  wet,  but  has  no  standing  water.  It  had  been  cultivated 
as  a  vegetable  garden  for  several  years,  and  heavily  manured. 
It  was  plowed  and  harrowed  smoothly  in  May,  the  plants  set 
in  rows  four  feet  apart  and  about  one  foot  apart  in  the  row.  I 
cultivated  between  the  rows  as  often  as  every  week  or  ten 
days,  and  hoed  between  the  plants  in  the  row  until  the  plants 
put  out  runners  and  new  plants  to  root.  Then  I  let  it  grow. 

Soon  as  the  ground  was  frozen  two  or  three  inches  deep,  I 
spread  on  coarse  slough  grass  at  the  rate  of  four  tons  an  acre, 
which  laid  on  until  the  frost  was  out  in  the  Spring.  I  then 
raked  off  the  hay,  and  stacked  for  the  next  year.  Just  before 
the  blossoms  appeared,  I  cultivated  and  hoed  thoroughly,  and 
let  it  lie  till  the  crop  was  picked. 

In  harvesting  it  is  very  essential  that  all  the  ripe  ones 
should  be  taken  off  at  each  picking,  as  ripe  fruit  left  on  the 
vines  becomes  over-ripe  in  two  days,  and  besides  being 
a  loss  of  so  much  fruit,  is  a  damage  to  that  which  is  marketable. 
My  first  picking  amounted  to  forty-eight  quarts  (two  crates)  ; 
the  second  day  after  I  took  off  ten  crates,  the  next  day,  Satur- 
day, four  crates ;  Monday  twenty-five  crates.  The  crop 
amounted  to  one  hundred  and  ten  crates,  worth  that  year  about 
$500,  which  I  thought  was  pretty  good  for  half  an  acre. 

After  the  first  year  all  one  can  do  is  to  pull  the  large  weeds 
as  they  mature.  This  lot  produced  four  crops,  averaging  from 
one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  twenty  cases  per  crop.  It  is 
13 


194  KANE  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

rather  difficult  in  our  climate  and  soil  to  get  a  good  stand  of 
plants,  but  on  such  land  as  I  have  described  plants  can  cover 
the  ground,  and  yet  produce  very  fine,  large  fruit. 

Others  have  met  with  better  success  than  I  have,  but  I 
think  all  those  who  were  successful  pursued  nearly  the  same 
course  that  I  did,  while  very  many  have  failed,  either  because 
they  did  not  use  good  judgment  in  the  selection  and  prepara- 
tion of  their  land  or  else  they  did  not  bestow  their  labor  at  the 
right  time. 

The  cost,  in  this  locality,  of  an  acre  of  strawberries,  at 
the  maturing  of  the  first  crop,  including  cost  of  plants,  and  all 
labor  necessary  up  to  picking  time,  is  from  fifty  to  seventy-five 
dollars  per  acre. 

The  best  time  to  set  out  plants  is  in  the  Spring,  as  early 
as  the  ground  can  be  worked,  though  they  can  be  set  success- 
fully at  any  time,  when  the  ground  is  not  frozen,  or  too  dry. 


O.  B.  JENNE, 

ELGIN,   KANE   COUNTY. 

The  Dairy  Cow  —  Her  Pasture  —  The  Dairy  Barn  and  Its  Con- 
struction —  The  Rearing  of  Calves  —  Best  Way  to  Market 
Milk. 

The  qualities  we  seek  for  in  a  cow  for  the  dairy  are,  first,  good 
size  and  ability  to  give  a  large  quantity  of  rich  milk,  and  second, 
a  tendency  to  take  on  flesh,  so  that  she  can  be  turned  into  beef 
when,  from  age  or  any  other  cause,  she  ceases  to  pay  for  milk- 
ing. The  breeds  I  should  recommend  are  the  Durham  and 
Holstein.  The  latter  breed  have  been  introduced  into  the 
West  quite  recently,  and  have  not  been  thoroughly  tested  as 
yet,  but  they  promise  well. 

PASTURE  AND  HOW  TO  MAKE  IT. 

My  pastures  contain  a  variety  of  grasses,  which  mature 
at  different  periods  and  furnish  fresh  feed  for  a  long  time. 


HOW  TO  MAKE  PASTURE. 

Age  improves  a  pasture.  The  grass  becomes  thicker  set  and 
finer  from  year  to  year,  and  if  one  desires  to  enrich  it,  a 
compost  spread  on  in  the  Fall  and  Winter,  a  harrowing 
with  a  sharp  toothed  harrow,  and  if  the  grass  is  not  well 
set,  a  sprinkling  of  seed  will  produce  satisfactory  results. 
No  weeds,  such  as  thistles,  mullein,  etc.,  should  be  allowed  to 
go  to  seed,  but  should  be  cut  in  season  with  either  scythe  or 
spade. 

Meadows  should  be  prepared  by  liberal  manuring,  deep 
and  thorough  plowing,  and  a  thorough  pulverizing  of  the 
surface  soil  with  harrow  and  roller.  Seed  should  be  clean  and 
pure,  no  matter  what  the  cost  of  obtaining  it.  It  should  be 
spread  liberally — say  one  peck  of  timothy  to  four  quarts  of 
clover  per  acre.  This  can  be  done  in  the  Spring  with  the  Spring 
grain,  but  I  have  practiced  the  following  plan  for  several  years, 
with  the  best  results  :  I  prepare  my  ground  immediately  after 
harvest  and  sow  the  timothy,  without  any  other  crop,  so  that 
it  will  receive  a  good  start  before  Winter.  The  clover  must  not 
be  sowed  so  as  to  sprout  in  the  Fall,  for  it  will  Winter-kill, 
but  it  should  be  sown  any  time  in  Winter,  or  before  the  frost 
comes  out  in  the  Spring,  so  that  it  will  be  ready  to  sprout  as 
soon  as  Spring  opens.  By  this  process  the  timothy  matures 
the  next  season,  and  makes  very  fine  hay. 

It  is  desirable  to  have  a  good  proportion  of  clover,  as  the 
second  crop  makes  fine  Fall  feed  for  the  cows,  or  a  crop  of 
seed  can  be  gathered  of  far  greater  cash  value  than  the  first 
crop  of  hay  was,  or  else  it  may  be  cut  for  hay,  and  if  well 
cured,  it  will  produce  milk  in  Winter  better  than  any  other 
fodder. 

When  feeding  to  make  milk,  hay  should  be  cut  as  soon  as 
the  timothy  is  in  blossom,  and  carefully  cured  without  being 
touched  by  rain  or  dew.  In  order  to  accomplish  this,  if  there 
is  a  prospect  of  rain  when  the  hay  is  partially  cured,  it  must 
be  put  in  small  stacks,  and  as  soon  as  the  weather  permits  be 
opened  out  to  the  sun  and  air  before  drawing  it  to  the  barn. 
If  there  is  no  prospect  of  rain,  it  should  be  raked  in  winrows 
over  night,  and  be  drawn  from  there  next  day.  As  soon  as  a 


196  KANE  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

meadow  fails  to  yield  a  paying  crop,  it  should  be  broken  up, 
cultivated  a  year  or  more,  and  re-seeded  as  before. 

DAIRY  BARN. 

My  dairy  barn  is  built  with  a  stone  basement  eight  feet 
high.  The  building  has  twenty  feet  posts,  sides  and  ends 
boarded  and  battened,  and  made  as  nearly  air-tight  as  possible. 
The  roof  is  provided  with  a  cupola  for  ventilation,  and  venti- 
lators are  in  the  gables. 

A  horsefork  and  carrier  is  used  on  account  of  the 
extra  hight  obtained  by  the  twenty  foot  posts,  and  for  the 
purpose  of  carrying  the  hay  to  the  end  of  the  longest  barn. 
To  give  a  free  passage  to  the  carrier,  no  beams  cross  the 
center  of  the  bay.  The  basement  is  finished  with  large  doors 
in  the  center  of  each  end,  for  the  entrance  and  exit  of  the 
cows,  and  the  team  used  to  haul  out  the  manure.  Windows 
along  the  sides  are  provided  with  sash  hung  at  the  top  for  the 
sake  of  ventilation.  Stanchions  are  also  placed  on  each  side 
far  enough  from  the  wall  to  admit  of  manger  and  a  row  of 
chests  for  ground  feed,  with  space  to  pass  along  next  the  wall 
to  feed  hay.  There  is  an  opening  through  the  floor  above  over 
this  passage  to  throw  down  the  hay.  The  floor  is  raised  three 
or  four  inches  high  back  from  the  stanchions  toward  the  center 
of  the  stable,  far  enough  so  that  the  hind  feet  of  the  cows  will 
be  on  the  edge,  and  with  a  slight  inclination,  so  that  no  water 
will  stand  on  it  to  foul  the  cows  when  they  lie  down. 

CARE  AND  FEED  OP  COWS. 

During  the  pasture  season  my  cows  are  out  night  and 
day,  except  while  milking,  when  they  are  driven  quietly 
into  the  stable  and  turned  out  again  as  soon  as  milked.  The 
milking  is  done  in  the  most  cleanly  manner  at  regular 
intervals,  just  twelve  hours  apart  if  possible,  and  by  the  same 
hands,  in  the  same  rotation,  commencing  each  time  with  the 
same  cow,  and  going  through  to  the  last.  When  the  pasture 
begins  to  fail,  the  deficiency  must  be  made  up  by  feeding  some 
green  crops.  Corn  is  sown  in  drills  generally  for  this  purpose. 
Some  feed  bran  in  addition.  Pure  living  water  in  abundance, 


REARING  CALVES.  197 

coming  either  from  running  springs  or  raised  from  wells  by 
wind  power,  is  indispensable.  In  Winter  the  stables  are 
kept  clean,  well  littered,  and  ventilated.  The  time  and  man- 
ner of  feeding,  the  quantity  of  feed  and  exercise  in  open  air 
are  all  appointed  and  adhered  to  with  scrupulous  regu- 
larity, and  care  taken  not  to  over  nor  underfeed.  Stock  must 
have  an  abundant  supply  of  water  fresh  from  the  bottom  of  the 
well,  in  the  barn  yard.  Following  these  directions  the  most 
satisfactory  results  are  always  produced. 

REARING  CALVES. 

As  the  dairy  stock  needs  replenishing  from  time  to  time 
and  as  it  is  difficult  to  meet  this  want  by  purchasing  cows,  I  " 
consider  it  quite  an  important  item  in  the  business  to  rear 
calves  to  supply  this  need.  I  select  the  best  calves  from  the 
best  cows.  I  take  the  calf  from  its  mother  when  three  or  four 
days  old  and  feed  it  all  of  her  milk  it  will  take  up  to  one  gallon 
twice  a  day.  When  two  weeks  old  it  may,  if  thought  desira- 
ble, be  fed  partly  on  sweet  skimmed  milk,  and  if  the  calf  is 
large  and  hearty,  the  quantity  may  be  increased,  but  it  should 
never  have  enough  to  prevent  its  coming  to  the  next  meal  with 
a  good  appetite.  If  this  should  happen,  the  omission  of  one 
meal  will  usually  remedy  it.  A  little  fine  hay  in  Winter,  or 
fresh  grass  in  Summer,  should  now  be  put  within  its  reach.  At 
four  weeks  old  a  little  sour  milk  or  butter-milk  may  be  added, 
and  the  quantity  gradually  increased  until,  at  six  or  seven 
weeks,  it  may  be  put  entirely  upon  that  diet,  with  the  hay  or 
grass.  A  handful  of  oats  should  now  be  placed  before  it,  and 
that  grain  also  gradually  increased  as  fast  as  it  will  eat  it. 

Each  calf  should  be  loose  in  a  pen  by  itself,  with  a  good, 
dry  and  comfortable  shelter,  Summer  or  Winter.  If  it  is  a 
Winter  calf,  it  may  be  turned  out  to  pasture  when  the  feed  is 
good  in  the  Spring.  If  it  is  a  Spring  calf,  it  must  not  be  turned 
out  until  cool  weather,  and  upon  fresh  Fall  feed.  At  whatever 
season  calves  come  they  should  be  fed  and  treated  so  that  they 
will  make  a  steady  growth  from  birth  to  maturity.  Heifers  of 
good  size  may  drop  their  first  calves  at  two  years  old.  I 


198  ADAMS  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

believe  it  is  considered  the  best  time  for  the  developement  of 
the  milking  qualities,  though  it  may  prevent  them  from  making 
quite  so  much  growth. 

The  marketing  of  the  milk  must  depend  upon  circum- 
stances. If  you  are  within  a  convenient  distance  from  a  city, 
it  may  be  shipped  there,  or  taken  to  butter  and  cheese  factories ; 
or  another  plan,  and  which,  I  think,  the  best  of  all  for  one  who 
desires  to  operate  in  the  most  independent  manner,  is  to  make 
it  into  butter  and  cheese  at  home,  using  the  skim  milk,  butter- 
milk and  whey  for  feeding  calves  and  hogs. 

A  good  course  for  a  novice  to  follow  in  order  to  post 
himself  in  the  building,  furnishing  and  managing  of  a  private 
creamery,  is  to  visit  the  best  ones  in  the  country  and  study  up 
the  matter  in  all  its  details. 


GEORGE  W.  DEAN, 

ADAMS,     ADAMS     COUNTY. 

Depends    Upon  Hogs  and   Corn  for  Profit  —  Constant  Aim  to 
Keep  the  Land  in  a  High  State  of  Cultivation. 

I  divide  my  farm,  which  contains  over  four  hundred  acres, 
into  corn,  wheat,  oats,  meadow  and  pasture  lands.  My  princi- 
pal crop  is  corn,  which,  when  raised  and  fed  out  or  cribbed, 
costs,  on  an  average,  about  twenty-seven  cents  per  bushel. 

CORN. 

My  manner  of  raising  corn  is  as  follows :  I  plow  the 
ground  as  early  in  the  Spring  as  the  season  and  the  condition 
of  the  ground  will  permit.  I  never  plow  in  the  Fall  for  corn, 
except  when  the  ground  is  sod,  stubble  or  very  trashy,  in 
which  case  I  plow  deeper  than  in  the  Spring.  If,  when  it  is 
time  to  plant  the  corn  (which  is  as  early  as  possible),  the 
ground  has  become  hard  by  heavy  rains,  I  take  a  pair  of 
double  corn  plows  and  ridge  it  up  in  ridges  four  feet  apart, 
then  cross  these  at  right  angles  with  a  two  horse  corn  planter, 
and  plant  the  corn  in  the  ridges.  The  corn  will  come  up 


SMALL  GRAIN.  199 

quicker  thus  treated  than  any  other  way,  as  the  sun  will  have 
more  effect  on  it.  But  if  the  ground  is  in  good  order,  I  pulver- 
ize thoroughly  with  a  heavy  harrow  to  destroy  all  the  weeds 
that  may  have  started,  lay  off  with  a  sled,  and  plant  as  before. 

After  the  corn  has  been  planted,  and  a  few  days  before  it 
comes  up,  I  harrow  thoroughly ;  there  is  no  danger  of  injuring 
the  corn,  but  this  will  leave  the  ground  clean  and  in  fine  con- 
dition. I  select  seed  in  the  Fall,  when  gathering  corn,  and 
keep  it  in  a  dry  place. 

When  the  corn  is  two  or  three  inches  high  I  take  a  pair  of 
double  plows  (I  use  no  single  ones,  except  in  stumps),  and  run 
as  close  to  it  as  possible,  without  tearing  it  up,  plowing  about 
two  inches  deep,  and  throwing  the  dirt  from  the  corn.  About 
a  week  or  ten  days  later,  I  take  two  horse  cultivators  and  run 
crosswise  of  the  corn,  putting  them  in  deep  and  throwing  as 
much  dirt  to  the  corn  as  it  will  bear.  Again,  after  a  similar 
length  of  time,  I  cultivate  lengthwise.  The  corn  is  now  large 
enough  to  "  lay  by."  I  take  the  double  plows  again,  and  throw 
a  big  ridge  to  the  corn  by  plowing  deep  and  cutting  out  all  the 
middle.  Now  it  is  harvest,  after  which  I  never  plow  corn, 
unless  planted  late.  I  have  never  failed  on  a  corn  crop. 

SMALL  GRAIN. 

I  make  no  specialty  of  oats,  raising  only  enough  for  our 
own  use.  I  sow  as  soon  as  the  ground  will  permit,  because 
early  oats  are  always  the  best.  It  pays  to  put  them  in  well. 

I  grow  wheat  more  for  changing  the  land,  than  for  profit, 
yet  for  the  last  two  years  the  crop  has  been  remunerative.  I  sow 
mostly  on  wheat  and  oat  stubble,  plowing  as  soon  as  possible 
after  harvest — giving  the  hogs  time  to  clean  it  up.  I  pulverize 
thoroughly  by  harrowing,  and  roll  or  drag  to  make  the  ground 
solid  ;  then,  with  a  drill,  sow  one  and  three-eighths  bushels  to 
the  acre,  between  the  10th  and  25th  of  September. 

We  have  thus  far  used  the  "  Marsh  Harvester  "  for  cutting 
grain,  with  success.  I  usually  stack  wheat,  believing  it  better 
to  go  through  the  sweat  in  the  stack,  which  takes  about  four 
weeks. 


200  ADAMS   COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

I  have  never  been  able  to  make  an  estimate  on  the  cost  of 
growing  a  bushel  of  wheat.  While  I  am  not  sure  that  I  have 
made  much  money  on  it,  I  do  know  that  others  in  Adams 
county  have  made  fortunes. 

HOGS. 

I  mainly  depend  on  hogs  and  corn  for  profit.  These  I 
market  three  times  a  year,  to  wit :  Fall,  Winter  and  Spring.  I 
put  my  hogs  on  clover  about  the  first  of  May,  let  them  run 
until  harvest  is  over  and  grain  stacked,  then  turn  them  on 
stubble.  About  the  fifteenth  of  August  I  commence  feeding 
old  corn,  lightly  at  first,  gradually  increasing  to  as  much  as 
they  will  eat  up  clean.  I  slop  them  once  a  week  with  bran 
and  shipstuff,  and  keep  a  trough  in  the  pen  in  which  there  is 
always  salt  and  wood  ashes.  When  green  corn  begins  to  get 
hard,  I  cut  it  up  and  feed  with  the  old  corn,  scant  enough  so 
that  they  will  eat  most  of  the  stalk.  About  the  tenth  of  Sep- 
tember I  turn  them  on  a  piece  of  corn,  eight  or  ten  acres  to 
one  hundred  hogs:  when  this  is  cleaned  up,  I  feed  on  this 
ground  thereby  saving  all  the  manure.  » 

During  the  month  of  November  I  sort  out  about  one-half 
of  our  fattest  hogs,  which  will  weigh  three  hundred  pounds  or 
more  and  sell  them.  The  remainder  I  feed  till  about  the  holi- 
days and  sell  them  for  Winter  packing.  The  pigs  have  all  this 
time  been  running  with  the  fat  hogs.  I  now  sort  out  all  the 
best  feeding  barrows  (leaving  all  the  sows  to  breed  from)  and 
continue  to  feed  them  until  about  the  first  of  April  when  they 
will  bring  the  best  market  price.  When  I  am  ready  to  sell,  I 
never  wait  for  a  higher  price,  and  in  some  of  these  sales  I 
usually  hit  one  or  two  good  markets.  I  sometimes  buy  and 
make  a  February  sale,  which,  with  us,  is  the  most  remunerating. 
I  always  make  eight  pounds  of  pork  to  one  bushel  of  corn ; 
it  is  not  safe  to  calculate  on  more,  especially  when  I  buy  the 
corn.  For  all  markets  I  prefer  the  Poland  China  crossed  with 
Berkshire.  I  have  my  pigs  come  as  near  the  first  of  May  as 
may  be. 

HOG  PEN. 

My   hog-pen    is    a   long   ten-foot   shed   east    and    west, 


ROTATION   IN   CROPS.  201 

covered  with  rough  boards  sloping  to  the  north,  so  that  it  will 
have  the  benefit  of  the  sun  to  the  south,  and  having  a  five-foot 
lane  in  front.  I  divide  this  shed  into  stalls,  each  five  feet  in 
size,  and  having  a  gate,  so  that  when  a  gate  is  open,  the  lane 
is  closed.  By  means  of  a  pen  at  one  end,  I  can  drive  a  hog 
into  any  stall  that  I  desire.  A  few  days  before  the  time  for  the 
sows  to  pig,  I  put  one  of  them  in  each  of  these  stalls  bedded 
with  clean  straw.  They  are  thus  almost  sure  to  save  their 
pigs.  I  keep  the  stalls  clean,  disinfecting  occasionally  with  air- 
slacked  lime.  When  the  pigs  are  about  two  weeks  old,  I  let 
them  all  run  together  as  they  will  grow  faster  with  exercise, 
and  slop  them  daily  until  I  begin  feeding  hogs  in  August.  In 
all  cases  I  provide  a  comfortable  sleeping  place  for  my  hogs, 
as  well  as  a  good  place  to  feed. 

CATTLE. 

I  keep  only  enough  cattle  to  consume  the  roughness  of  the 
farm,  always  have  a  straw  stack  to  which  they  can  have  access 
for  shelter  during  Winter,  and  feed  them  well  in  the  Spring, 
fattening  on  grass.  I  also  keep  a  sufficient  number  of  cows  to 
supply  us  abundantly  with  milk  and  butter. 

ROTATION    OF   CEOPS. 

My  constant  aim  is  to  keep  my  land  in  a  high  state  of 
cultivation,  by  hauling  all  the  manure  that  can  be  gathered  on 
the  farm,  twice  a  year,  scattering  it  in  the  Fall  on  the  wheat 
land,  on  corn  ground  in  the  Spring ;  and  by  pursuing  a  system 
of  mixed  husbandry.  Of  my  farm  entire  I  have  one 
hundred  and  fifty  in  corn,  ninety  in  wheat,  sixty  in  oats,  and 
the  remainder  in  pasture  and  meadow.  I  never  run  land  in 
corn  more  than  three  years  in  succession,  then  follow  with  oats, 
wheat,  and  clover ;  the  latter  of  which  is  one  of  the  greatest 
fertilizers  in  the  world. 

My  wife  superintends  the  household,  the  garden,  and  the 
poultry,  always  holding  herself  responsible  for  a  good  meal. 
Economy  in  the  house,  as  well  as  on  the  farm,  is  one  of  the 
secrets  of  success  ;  almost  any  farmer  can  make  money  but  not 
every  one  can  save  it. 


202  MCLEAN  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

Adams  county  is  one  of  the  best  in  the  State  and  equal  to 
any  in  the  great  Mississippi  valley.  The  southern  part  is  espe- 
cially adapted  to  wheat,  though  fruit  is  grown  largely  and 
successfully. 

JESSE  W.  FELL, 

NORMAL,     MCLEAN     COUNTY. 

Willow  Hedges  or  Salix  Alba. 

First,  what  kind  of  willow  is  best  ?  White  willow,  known 
by  various  names,  as  gray  willow,  powder  willow,  Huntington 
willow,  French  willow,  etc.  It  was  imported  into  this  country 
from  France,  by  Irenee  Dupont,  the  grandfather  of  Commodore 
Dupont,  for  the  manufacture  of  the  finer  grades  of  powder,  in 
the  year  1800,  and  has  been  extensively  raised  for  that  purpose, 
in  the  vicinity  of  Wilmington,  in  the  State  of  Delaware ;  from 
which  neighborhood  I  got  my  first  supply.  It  is  extensively 
raised  on  the  Continent  and  in  England.  An  English  work  of 
authority  —  Chamber's  Encyclopedia  —  says  of  it,  Volume  10, 
page  206  :  "  It  is  of  large  sizo,  and  remarkably  rapid  growth. 
The  wood  is  used  for  many  purposes,  being  remarkably  dura- 
ble, especially  in  damp  situations.  ******  Jt  was 
anciently  used  for  shields.  Cork-cutters  employ  it  for  whetting 
sharp-edged  implements.  It  is  used  for  paddles  for  steamboats, 
because  it  wears  better  in  water  than  any  other  wood.  *  *  * 
It  is  by  far  the  largest  species  of  willow  known  in  Britain.  It 
attains  a  hight  of  eighty  feet,"  etc.  Have  myself  seen  trees 
higher,  and  four  feet  in  diameter.  It  makes  excellent  lumber 
for  siding,  inside  work,  etc.,  and  splits  equal  to  any  timber 
grown,  and  yet  holds  a  spike  or  nail  remarkably  well.  Have 
seen  fences  made  of  the  split  rails  that  have  lain  in  the  fence 
more  than  forty  j-ears. 

But,  it  is  asked,  if  it  grows  so  large,  when  crowded  into 
a  hedge  will  it  not,  more  or  less,  die  out  ?  Perhaps  so,  if 
planted  too  thick.  By  planting  not  less  than  two  feet  apart, 
and  interlacing  the  limbs,  it  will  last  a  long  time  as  a  hedge, 


WILLOW  HEDGE.  203 

or  stockade,  provided  you  cut  it  down  at  a  proper  hight.  I 
prefer,  however,  in  view  of  the  rapid  destruction  of  our  timber 
supplies,  and  the  value  of  this  wood  when  grown,  to  give  it 
more  room,  and  after  three  or  four  years  growth  reducing  the 
number  of  stalks  or  branches  to  one  to  every  two  or  three  feet, 
and  if  needs  be,  attaching  thereto  a  barbed  wire  or  two  to 
turn  stock. 

WHEN    IS   THE   BEST   TIME   TO    PLANT? 

If  the  ground  is  properly  prepared  and  you  plant  deep 
enough,  by  all  means  plant  in  Fall,  say  November.  By  so 
doing  the  cuttings  or  poles — as  the  case  may  be — retain  about 
them  a  greater  amount  of  moisture  and  are  in  a  condition  to 
start  earlier  in  the  Spring  than  if  then  planted.  But  in  a  soil 
like  much  to  be  found  in  the  West,  that  is  wet  and  heaves,  care 
must  be  taken  that  the  cuttings,  which  of  necessity  are  gener- 
ally used,  are  put  deep  in  the  ground.  If  put  under  the  surface 
entirely,  so  that  in  the  Spring  you  have  to  shake  off  some  of 
the  top  earth  so  as  to  expose  the  tips,  all  the  better.  The 
cuttings  too,  should  be  a  good  size,  about  ten  inches  long  and 
at  the  small  end  about  half  an  inch  in  diameter.  Of  course 
Spring  plantings  will  do  well,  but  I  would  prefer  the  Fall,  if 
practicable,  for  reasons  stated. 

PROPAGATING   FROM   POLES. 

I  invariably  prepare  my  ground  well  by  deep  plowing, 
as  for  corn.  Then  run  a  furrow  where  I  want  my  hedge 
or  trees  to  stand,  and  on  the  bottom  thereof  lay  down  the 
poles,  bringing  the  tips  in  contact.  This  being  done,  I  plow 
another  furrow  on  top  of  the  poles,  or  plow  back  the  one 
already  thrown  up ;  in  doing  which,  so  gear  the  horses  that 
they  will  stride  the  furrow,  instead  of  the  off  horse  walking, 
as  is  usual,  in  the  one  cleaned  out,  as  by  so  doing  the  poles  will 
be  displaced.  If  this  is  done  in  the  Spring,  I  proceed  at  once  to 
uncover,  with  the  back  or  corner  of  a  hoe,  so  much  only  of  the 
earth,  by  raking  across  the  furrow,  as  is  necessary  to  let  in  the 
light  wherever  I  want  a  tree.  Ever  so  small  an  opening, 
so  I  reach  the  pole,  is  sufficient.  This  will  develop  plants 


204  UNION   COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

that  will  grow  with  great  rapidity,  whilst  the  balance  of  the 
pole,  kept  in  the  dark,  will  be  converted  into  a  trunk-root, 
and  have  very  numerous  laterals.  In  the  greater  amount  of 
substance  from  which  the  young  plants  derive  their  nourish- 
ment a  greater  growth  is  had,  whilst  the  certainty  of  their 
growing  is  about  absolute,  provided  the  poles  are  good  when 
set  and  are  kept  in  place.  If  the  planting  of  the  poles  is  done 
in  the  Fall — October  or  November — the  openings  should  not 
be  made  till  in  the  Spring.  The  size  of  the  poles  laid  down, 
vary  from  two  to  ten  feet  in  length — the  longer  the  better 
so  they  are  tolerably  straight — and  not  less  than  half  an  inch 
in  diameter  at  the  small  end. 

In  conclusion  I  may  add  it  is  only  such  as  have  old  plant- 
ings or  who  live  near  by  those  who  have,  who  can  profitably 
use  the  poles,  as  the  cost  of  transportation  is  too  great,  besides 
the  ordinary  cuttings,  if  of  good  size,  will  do  well. 


D.  GOW, 

COBDEN,    UNION   COUNTY. 

Fruit  Gardening — Operated  Upon  Shares — Cold  Frames  — 
Flue  Hot  Bed  —  Lettuce — The  Enemies  of  Plant  Life 
—  The  Remedy  —  How  to  Pack  Fruit  Honestly  —  Spinach. 

In  the  Winter  of  1855  I  migrated  from  New  Jersey  to  this 
county  with  a  view  to  raising  early  garden  products  for  the 
supply  of  the  Chicago  market.  Being  a  practical  gardener 
and  fruit  grower,  and  seeing  the  many  advantages  which  this 
hilly  country  possessed  with  its  newly  opened  up  railroad 
shipping  facilities  to  Chicago,  I  at  once  began  gardening 
operations  on  a  side-hill  between  the  towns  of  Anna  and 
Jonesboro,  and  raised  my  first  crop  of  tomatoes  in  Illinois  from 
eight  thousand  plants.  From  this  quantity,  together  with  a 
few  peas,  beets  and  cucumbers,  I  realized  a  net  profit  of  a  little 
over  twelve  hundred  dollars. 

The  second  year  I  had  one  competitor  in  business,  but  he, 


COLD  FRAMES.  205 

being  a  tailor  and  clothier,  wholly  inexperienced  in  horticult- 
ure, signally  failed  and  left  in  disgust. 

From  this  small  beginning  there  has  grown  up  an  indus- 
trial commercial  trade  of  such  magnitude  that  at  one  station 
alone  (Cobden)  there  have  been  loaded  and  dispatched  in  one 
day,  twenty-two  carloads  of  perishable  fruit  and  vegetables ; 
and,  instead  of  mine  alone,  there  are  at  least  one  thousand 
families  supported  from  this  business.  In  1861  I  bought  my 
eighty  acre  homestead,  located  one  and  one-half  miles  east  of 
Cobden.  In  1862  I  bought  forty  acres  adjoining,  in  1864  forty 
acres  more,  and  so  on,  until  I  now  have  six  farms,  on  five  of 
which  I  have  tenants  operating  on  shares.  These  tenants  have 
each  a  span  of  mules,  the  necessary  agricultural  implements, 
and  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  hot  bed  sash  and  hot  beds, 
managed  about  as  my  homestead  farm,  the  detailed  method  of 
which  will  suffice  for  all.  The  principal  crops  now  raised  are 
lettuce,  spinach,  tomatoes,  nutmeg  melons,  squash  and  cucum- 
bers. All  except  the  spinach  are  raised  under  glass,  thus 
necessitating  the  use  of  hot  beds  and  cold  frames. 

COLD   FRAMES 

are  made  by  simply  attaching  boards  on  edge,  end  to  end,  to 
stakes  set  in  the  ground  in  two  parallel  lines  east  and  west  any 
convenient  length.  The  boards  on  north  or  upper  side  of  frame 
should  be  fifteen  inches  wide,  those  on  south  side  twelve  inches 
so  as  to  give  greater  slope  to  the  sash.  The  hot  bed  sash  are 
made  of  two  inch  pine,  with  five  rows  of  six  by  eight  glass, 
being  three  feet  one  inch  in  width,  and  six  feet  five  inches  in 
length,  which  when  placed  upon  the  frame  already  described, 
constitute  a  cold  frame. 

LETTUCE. 

About  the  first  of  October,  in  each  year,  lettuce  seed  is 
sown,  and  as  soon  as  the  plants  are  large  enough  to  be  conve- 
niently handled,  they  are  set  in  the  cold  frames,  six  inches 
apart,  and  covered  with  the  sash,  where  they  remain  during 
the  Winter,  growing  a  little  every  warm  day  and  requiring 
little  care  or  attention,  except  an  occasional  airing  in  warm 


206  UNION   COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

weather.  This  crop  is  generally  fit  for  market  the  following 
February  and  March,  when  it  is  cut  and  washed,  packed  in 
cases,  and  sent  by  express  to  market.  These  cold  frames  are 
thus  emptied  by  the  last  of  March,  and  are  again  filled  with 
plants  of  another  species.  In  the  neighborhood  of  large  cities, 
where  a  plentiful  supply  can  be  obtained,  hot-beds  are  made 
of  stable  manure,  but  here  where  that  article  can  not  be  had  in 
sufficient  quantity,  while  wood  is  abundant,  I  have  resorted  to 
Flue  Hot-beds  heated  artificially  and  built  as  follows : 

FLUE   HOT-BEDS. 

On  an  eastern  slope  I  dig  a  trench  about  three  and  a  half 
feet  wide  by  two  and  a  half  feet  deep,  and  some  eight  feet  long. 
In  this  excavation  I  build  a  fireplace  sixteen  inches  wide  and 
sixteen  inches  high  walled  up  with  stone  and  having  a  stone 
cover.  From  the  end  of  this  fireplace  two  smaller  trenches 
are  dug  (diverging  till  they  reach  five  feet  apart  on  outer 
edge)  walled  and  covered  with  stone,  making  two  flues  about 
ten  by  twelve  inches,  running  parallel  the  whole  length  of  the 
bed  and  connecting  with  a  chimney,  constructed  of  four  boards 
nailed  together,  at  the  farther  end.  Care  is  taken  that  the 
stone  covers  on  the  two  flues  shall  not  project  beyond  a  width 
of  five  and  a  half  feet,  so  as  to  admit  the  sinking  of  posts  to 
which  the  boards  constituting  the  frame  are  attached  and  on 
which  the  sash  are  placed.  In  order  to  secure  an  equal  temper- 
ature the  full  length  of  the  bed,  I  have  earth  over  the  flues 
next  to  the  fireplace  about  two  feet  deep,  and  at  the  further 
end,  nearest  the  chimney,  not  quite  one  foot.  I  have  four  such 
flue  hot-beds  each  holding  twenty-six  sash,  in  one  of  which 
I  sow  annually  tomato  seed  about  the  middle  of  February. 

TOMATOES. 

As  soon  as  the  tomato  plants  have  their  rough  leaves  fairly 
developed  they  are  transplanted  into  the  other  hot-beds,  three 
inches  apart,  where  they  remain  until  about  the  first  of  April. 
They  are  then  removed  and  set  six  inches  apart  in  the  cold  frames 
made  vacant  by  the  previous  cutting  of  the  lettuce.  In  this 


TOMATOES.  207 

latitude  I  have  found  it  a  safe  rule  to  retain  my  tomato  plants 
in  the  cold  frames  till  the  first  of  May,  when  all  danger  of 
killing  by  frost  is  past ;  then  I  begin  to  remove  them  to  the 
field.  I  cut  out  each  plant  separately  in  a  ball  of  earth  six 
inches  square,  containing  the  largest  portion  of  the  roots,  and 
remove  to  a  sled  or  low  frame  improvised  for  the  purpose,  on 
wagon  wheels ;  then  haul  to  the  field,  where  the  soil  having 
undergone  the  necessary  preparation  is  checked  off  five  feet 
square.  I  place  the  plants  in  the  checks,  draw  a  little  earth 
around  the  balls,  scattering  a  handful  of  superphosphate  close 
to  each  but  not  touching  the  roots,  draw  more  earth  up,  tramp- 
ing firmly,  and  so  cover  the  ball  at  least  one  inch,  sufficiently 
to  steady  the  plant  in  its  new  position.  Through  careful 
selection  and  hybridization,  this  vegetable  has  so  increased  in 
size  and  productiveness,  that  it  has  become  necessary  to  stake 
each  plant,  so  as  to  prevent  rotting  of  the  tomato  by  contact 
with  the  ground.  From  twelve  to  twenty  years  ago,  I  used  to 
realize  a  net  profit  of  one  hundred  dollars  from  each  thousand 
plants ;  but  now,  the  supply  exceeds  a  profitable  demand,  and 
the  crop,  as  a  whole,  scarcely  pays  expenses. 

As  soon  as  the  tomato  plants  are  all  removed  to  the  field, 
the  stakes  already  spoken  of,  which  are  made  of  white  oak 
split  two  by  two  inches,  and  six  feet  long,  are  hauled  through 
the  field  and  left  in  convenient  position  for  distribution,  one  to 
each  plant.  One  person  sets  these  stakes  in  position  close  to 
the  plant,  while  another  follows  with  a  light  mall  and  drives 
one  end  of  them  from  six  to  ten  inches  deep  into  the  earth. 
The  plants  are  then  tied  to  these  stakes  and  must  be  tied  at 
least  from  four  to  six  times  during  their  growth  to  keep  their 
vines  in  an  upright  position,  so  as  not  to  shade  too  heavily  the 
fruit  already  formed  from  its  earlier  blossoms. 

EARLY   CULTURE. 

The  old  adage,  "  The  early  bird  catches  the  worm "  is 
true  here,  even  in  horticultural  pursuits,  notwithstanding  that 
many  fruits  and  vegetables  are  sent  from  the  South,  long  in 
advance  of  our  natural  season  for  like  products,  I  still  find  that 


208  UNION   COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

my  first  and  earliest  products  are  the  most  remunerative.  I 
therefore  resort  to  artificial  means  to  hasten  the  maturity  of 
my  productions.  In  my  efforts  to  catch  that  worm  I  build  my 
hot-bed  flues,  and  in  the  hot-beds  raise  tomatoes,  nutmeg  melons, 
cucumber  and  squash  plants,  and  transplant  them  into  the 
field,  so  as  to  have  the  fruits  thereof  some  ten  days  or  two 
weeks  in  advance  of  open  air  culture. 

MELON,    CUCUMBER  AND   SQUASH 

seeds  are  first  planted  in  quite  small  boxes,  four  by  four 
inches  by  three  and  a  half  inches  deep,  and  one-sixteenth  of 
an  inch  in  thickness,  and  placed  in  hot-bed  about  the  tenth  of 
April.  Care  is  taken  to  keep  the  plants  from  those  seeds 
sufficiently  protected  from  sudden  changes  in  the  weather,  and 
I  keep  them  growing  in  a  warm,  congenial  atmosphere,  until  the 
rough  leaf  of  the  melon  plant  is  as  large  as  a  silver  dollar., 
when  they  are  ready  for  the  field.  The  melon  plant  being 
more  sensitive  to  change  than  the  others  greater  care  is  neces- 
sary to  avoid  disturbing  the  rootlets  in  process  of  transplanting. 
As  these  boxes  are  only  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch  in  thickness, 
generally  made  of  poplar  timber  and,  having  been  imbedded 
in  earth  in  the  hot-bed  nearly  a  month,  are  partly  decayed,  and 
as  it  is  of  little  consequence  whether  the  bottom  of  the  box  is 
removed  when  transplanting,  only  the  sides  of  the  box  should 
be  removed.  These  boxes  should  each  contain  two  or  three 
strong,  healthy  plants  (which  are  enough  for  one  hill),  to  be 
planted  in  the  checks  of  rows  laid  off  five  feet  square,  supplied 
with  the  fertilizer  and  treated  as  described  for  the  tomato. 
What  is  said  of  the  melon  plant,  will  apply  to  the  squash  and 
cucumber.  I  have  in  this  short  description  marketed  the 
lettuce  crop  and  have  the  tomato,  melon,  squash  and  cucumber 
plants  all  in  the  field.  Now  comes  the  battle  with  the  enemies 
of  plant  life,  and  especially  with  the  yellow-striped  melon  bugs. 
They  generally  make  their  appearance  three  or  four  days  after 
the  plants  are  in  the  field,  find  a  secure  hiding  place  under- 
neath the  dry  top  earth  around  the  plant,  and  on  underside  of 
the  leaves.  They  are  present  in  such  numbers  that  if  not 


MARKETING.  209 

disturbed  for  three  or  four  days,  the  whole  field  of  plants  will 
be  devoured. 

REMEDY   FOR   BUGS. 

The  best  remedy  I  have  yet  found  for  these  pests,  is  a 
sprinkling  of  liquid  manure  from  my  liquid  manure  cistern, 
and  while  the  leaves  are  yet  wet  with  the  liquid,  to  sprinkle 
them  over  with  land-plaster.  If  the  weather  is  showery,  the 
application  may  have  to  be  repeated,  but  as  the  application 
itself  is  a  good  fertilizer,  nothing  is  lost  by  its  repetition.  The 
bugs  being  disposed  of,  nothing  now  remains  between  you  and 
good  crops  but  thorough  cultivation  and  frequent  light  showers, 
not  dashing  showers,  as  these  wash  the  pollen  off  the  blossoms 
and  prevent  fertilization.  Thorough  cultivation  implies  a  com- 
plete and  repeated  stirring  of  the  ground  between  the  rows 
with  plow  and  cultivator,  and  around  the  plant  with  the  hoe 
while  the  plants  are  young  and  newly  transplanted.  As  the 
roots  spread  rapidly  through  the  soil,  care  should  be  taken  not 
to  cultivate  too  closely  to  the  plant  as  this  will  retard  the 
ripening  of  the  crop. 

MARKETING. 

Cucumbers,  squash  and  tomatoes  are  ripe  and  fit  for  market 
about  the  15th  or  20th  of  July,  but  the  melons  are  a  month  later. 
Tomatoes  are  packed  in  boxes  five  inches  by  eight  inches  and 
twenty-two  inches  long,  holding  one-third  of  a  bushel.  .  The 
size  of  this  box  is  so  suitable  for  early  apples,  tomatoes  and 
peaches,  and  has  been  in  use  for  some  fourteen  years  without 
deviation  in  size,  that  its  character  and  use  is  generally  estab- 
lished. 

Cucumbers,  squash  and  melons  are  now  packed  in  a  very 
suitable  and  convenient  case,  introduced  by  me  in  1879,  and 
so  generally  approved  by  growers,  commission  men  and  deal- 
ers, that  its  future  use  is  conceded.  It  is  made  with  two  ends 
(called  heading),  twelve  by  twelve  inches,  five-eighths  thick, 
of  sound  poplar,  dressed  on  one  side,  and  eight  lath,  two  on 
each  side,  cut  one-quarter  of  an  inch  in  thickness,  five  inches 
broad  and  eighteen  inches  long ;  thus  I  have  a  case  that  holds 
one  dozen  of  first  class  white  Japan  nutmeg  melons,  that  is 
14 


210  UNION  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

twelve  by  twelve  and  eighteen  inches  long.  When  packed  in 
the  case,  each  melon  can  be  plainly  seen,  which  I  think  is  iii- 
ducive  to  honest  packing. 

By  the  end  of  August  these  crops  are  all  marketed  and  the 
land  again  plowed,  covering  all  the  vines  and  weeds  preparatory 
to  the  sowing  of  spinach  about  the  middle  of  September.  The 
land  now  receives  whatever  barnyard  manure  I  have  collected 
on  the  farm,  as  well  as  that  which  I  have  brought  a  distance  of 
forty  miles  by  railroad.  This  manure  is  applied  at  the  rate  of 
about  twenty  two-horse  loads  to  the  acre,  and  is  plowed  under, 
the  surface  of  the  land  being  made  mellow  with  the  harrow  ; 
when  it  is  ready  for  the  seed. 

I  then  sow  ten  pounds  of  spinach  seed  broadcast  over  each 
acre,  and  lightly  harrow  so  as  not  to  cover  too  deep.  This  crop 
is  so  easily  and  extensively  grown,  and  so  uncertain  in  its 
financial  results,  that  little  care  is  bestowed  upon  securing  it 
from  frost  by  means  of  mulching.  It  is  usually  sent  to  market 
by  express,  in  March  and  April  following,  and  the  crop  when 
cut  forms  a  complete  round  of  vegetable  crops  cultivated  upon 
my  farm. 

I  have  been,  and  am  still  engaged  in  fruit  raising,  but  will 
only  say  that  the  gist  or  kernel  of  the  business,  is  the  dollar 
that  is  in  it. 

This  section  of  the  country  is  so  overstocked  with  insects, 
death  dealing  to  trees  and  fruits,  while  expenses  for  expressage 
or  railroad  freights  and  commissions  are  so  great,  that  little, 
and  often  nothing,  is  left  of  profit  to  fruit  growers. 


DAIRY  FARM.  211 

L.  BACON, 

WAUCONDA,   LAKE  COUNTY. 

Dairy  Farm  —  Jersey  Cattle  —  Manner  of  Feeding  a  Dairy  Cow 
—  How  the  Milk  is  Handled  and  the  Butter  is  made  —  The 
Milk  Room  —  Drainage — Open  Ditches  —  Board  and  Tile 
Drains. 

Nine  years  ago  I  began  weeding  my  herd  of  cattle,  testing 
them  and  dispensing  with  all  that  were  not  better  than  average. 
I  bought  some  cows,  raised  heifers  from  my  best  stock,  and 
when  in  milk,  if  one  fell  below  my  standard  of  a  good  cow,  I 
sold  her  as  soon  as  possible. 

Those  of  my  own  raising  have  nearly  always  proved  super- 
ior to  those  purchased.  I  find  that  no  cow  will  do  as  well 
when  changing  homes,  and  masters,  as  she  will  on  her  original 
home. 

When  I  had  fourteen  as  good  natives  as  I  could  well  collect 
for  butter  making,  I  purchased  a  well  bred,  registered  Jersey 
bull,  and  raised  my  heifers,  and  from  that  source  my  present 
herd. 

I  pasture  in  Summer,  always  feeding  something  at  milking. 
I  raise  sometimes  a  little  rye  for  early  feed,  also  oats  and  peas 
sowed  together,  clover,  Hungarian  corn  fodder,  and  feed  a 
little  to  bring  the  cows  in  good  natured,  always  milking  in  the 
barn.  I  feed  bran  and  shorts,  more  or  less,  during  the  whole 
year. 

FEED   FOR   COWS. 

I  have  frequently,  when  my  cows  were  in  good  pasture, 
put  a  little  old  hay  in  their  mangers,  and  have  found  that 
they  ate  it  with  a  relish.  I  cut  hay  early,  cure  slightly  in  the 
swath,  bunch,  and  let  cure  from  one  to  two  days,  then  draw. 
I  cut  clover  in  full  bloom,  and  cure  mostly  in  the  cock.  I  raise 
oats  and  peas,  grind  with  corn  and  mix  bran  with  this.  I  like 
to  have  my  feed  weigh  about  oije  pound  per  quart,  and  feed 


212  LAKE  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

from  four  to  ten  quarts  per  day  to  a  cow,  according  to  the  cow's 
ability  to  digest  her  food. 

I  grow  a  few  roots,  mangolds  and  carrots,  and  feed  four 
to  six  quarts  per  day  to  each  cow,  while  they  last,  usually  in 
February  and  March ;  but  it  would  pay  to  raise  enough  to  feed 
all  Winter,  especially  if  one  does  not  have  to  hire  too  much 
help. 

CAKE  OF  COWS. 

In  Summer  I  commence  milking  at  six  o'clock,  at  each  end 
of  the  day.  In  Winter  I  rise  at  five  o'clock,  feed  hay,  card  cows 
and  young  stock,  breakfast,  clean  mangers,  feed  grain,  and 
begin  to  milk  at  seven  o'clock.  After  milking,  I  feed  cut 
stalks  or  cut  straw  with  shorts,  wetting  straw  and  mixing  in 
the  shorts.  I  feed  little  and  often,  making  them  eat  all  clean. 
At  about  ten  I  turn  them  out  to  water,  clean  the  stable,  place 
hay  in  manger,  and  leave  entirely  to  the  cow  how  long  she 
shall  stay  out.  If  the  day  is  pleasant,  I  feed  straw  or  stalks  in 
yard,  but  when  disagreeable,  feed  nothing  outside.  At  three 
to  four  o'clock  I  give  some  more  coarse  feed  ;  at  half  past  five 
clean  mangers,  feed  grain  and  roots,  if  roots  are  to  be  fed,  and 
milk.  After  milking  I  feed  cut  stalks.  For  this  feed  I  put  by 
my  poorest  corn  without  husking  ;  in  fact,  I  feed  considerable 
of  my  corn  in  this  way. 

I  keep  plenty  of  pigs  in  the  yard  to  root  over  the  manure, 
and  always  use  some  absorbent  in  the  trenches  behind  the  cows, 
dry  horse  manure,  road  dust,  or  something  of  the  kind,  to  save 
the  liquid  manure. 

I  have  never  lost  but  one  cow  ;  this,  a  two  year  old,  died 
of  inflammation  soon  after  calving.  I  keep  Jerseys  only,  and 
their  grades,  from  forty  to  fifty,  and  about  as  many  pigs  to 
eat  the  sour  milk  and  other  slop. 

As  each  cow  is  milked,  the  milk  is  strained  into  cans,  and 
when  milking  is  done,  these  are  carried  to  the  milk  room,  and 
the  milk  strained  through  cloth  into  a  large  pan  that  holds 
the  milk  of  all  the  cows. 

The  pans,  or  vats,  are  similar  to  those  used  in  cheese 
factories,  but  in  addition,  I  have  a  water-tight  cover,  ventilated. 


PLAN  OF  DAIRY  HOUSE. 


213 


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Water  Tank. 

Window.  SOOTH. 

Well,  with  windmill,  16  ft.  from  milk  room. 


Window. 


Windows  are  on  hinges  for  straining  milk  through. 
There  is  a  verandah  over  the  south  end  to  keep  the  sun  from  over- 
heating the  room. 

Coal  is  kept  under  the  steps,  of  which  there  are  but  four. 


214  LAKE  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

In  warm  weather  I  keep  cold  water  running  from  a  large  tank 
in  the  milk  room  on  the  cover,  thence  under  and  around  the 
milk,  keeping  it  as  cool  as  desirable.  This  tank  is  so  arranged 
that  large  pieces  of  ice  can  be  put  into  it  to  keep  the  water 
cool.  The  water  is  pumped  from  a  well  into  the  tank  by  a 
wind-mill,  which  also  furnishes  water  for  stock.  I  skim  when 
slightly  acid  or  before,  usually  in  thirty-six  hours,  and  let 
cream  stand  about  twelve  to  twenty-four  hours  to  ripen.  I  start 
the  churn  with  the  temperature  of  cream  at  fifty-eight  to  sixty- 
two  degrees,  according  to  weather,  cooler  in  warm,  and  warmer 
in  cold  weather.  I  use  revolving  churn.  When  the  butter 
has  come  to  size  of  wheat  grains,  I  stop  the  churn,  draw  off  a 
part  of  the  buttermilk,  add  brine  not  warmer  than  sixty  de- 
grees, turn  the  churn  a  few  times,  draw  off  and  continue  to 
wash  until  the  brine  runs  free  of  any  milky  appearance.  I 
let  the  butter  stand  in  good  strong  brine  from  ten  to  fifteen 
minutes,  then  take  from  churn,  weigh,  place  on  butter  worker 
and  press  out  all  the  brine,  leaving  the  butter  moist  enough 
to  dissolve  the  salt  readily ;  reweigh  the  brine,  thus  getting 
the  correct  weight  of  the  butter,  and  salt  with  any  good  dairy 
salt,  three-fourths  ounce  to  one  pound  of  butter.  I  work 
enough  to  have  the  salt  thoroughly  distributed  through  the 
whole  mass,  let  stand  from  three  to  four  hours  for  salt  to  dis- 
solve, rework  and  pack.  I  use  but  very  little  color,  and  that 
in  Winter,  and  add  the  coloring  after  the  butter  is  partly  washed, 
next  to  the  last  brine,  in  which  the  butter  remains  for  a  few 
minutes.  If  coloring  is  used  before  the  buttermilk  is  drawn  off, 
it  requires  nearly  double  the  amount  to  produce  the  same  effect. 
The  milk  room  is  sixteen  by  sixteen  feet;  ice  house  ten  by 
ten  feet,  next  to  which  is  the  cooling  room,  five  by  ten  feet 
wide,  and  having  ice  over  it.  The  floor  of  the  milk  room  is 
twelve  inches  below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  laid  with  brick- 
bats on  a  good  clay  foundation,  and  upon  this  is  one  inch  and 
one  half  of  cement.  The  floor  has  a  gradual  slope  towards  the 
drain.  The  wall  consists  of  stone  three  feet  high,  banked  up 
thus  far  with  earth ;  and  above  the  stone,  the  wall  is  double 
studded,  making  two  four-inch  air  spaces,  one  of  which  is  filled 


DRAINAGE.  215 

the  same  as  an  ice  house.     The  outside  is  sheeted,  buildinsr 

o 

paper  put  on,  and  then  sided.  Tar  paper  is  put  on  the  stud- 
ding inside,  then  sheeted  with  half-inch  stuff,  and  papered  with 
felt  paper.  I  think  lath  and  plaster  would  answer  as  well. 

DRAINAGE. 

Draining  is  in  order  at  all  times  when  other  work  is  not 
pressing.  I  have  paid  out  some  $400.00  for  open  drains  cut 
with  a  spade,  and  find  them  the  most  expensive  of  all,  as  they 
soon  fill,  besides  occupying  too  much  room.  The  banks  are 
always  a  harbor  for  weeds,  scattering  their  seeds  broadcast 
over  the  farm.  My  plan  is,  where  an  open  ditch  is  needed,  to 
plow  and  scrape  the  same  as  if  road  making,  spreading  the  dirt 
well  back  and  making  a  sloping  bank  that  a  load  may  readily 
be  hauled  through,  or  the  mowing  machine  run  easily  through. 
Such  a  ditch  is  easily  seeded  with  grass,  where  there  is  not  too 
much  water. 

Of  course  there  are  places  where  a  team  can  not  be  used, 
then  it  is  necessary  to  dig  by  hand  until  the  soil  is  found  firm 
enough  to  admit  a  team.  But  by  all  means,  use  the  team  to  clean 
the  old  ditches  where  it  is  possible.  I  have  scraped,  where  once 
an  old  ditch  had  been  dug  and  filled  nearly  full,  eighty  rods, 
two  feet  deep,  and  twelve  feet  wide  on  top,  spreading  the  dirt 
well  back  from  one  to  two  rods,  in  two  and  one-half  days. 
This  was  in  peaty  soil ;  in  hard  ground  it  takes  longer,  but  can 
be  done  for  about  one-fourth  the  expense  of  hand  digging.  I 
made  an  outlet  this  Fall,  through  hard  clay  from  one  to  four 
feet  deep  (average  two  and  one-half),  from  sixteen  to  twenty- 
five  feet  wide,  spreading  the  dirt  well  back,  so  that  a  team  can 
be  driven  through,  at  an  expense  not  exceeding  forty  cents  per 
rod.  When  once  a  man  becomes  used  to  it,  he  will  spread  the 
dirt  ready  for  the  plow.  I  never  use  the  second  man,  one  can 
do  more  than  any  team  can  stand.  I  have  frequently  found  it 
necessary  to  work  at  this  only  half  a  day  at  a  time,  especially 
in  hot  weather.  This  work  should  begin  as  soon  after  harvest 
as  is  practicable.  Open  ditches  should  be  made  only  as  outlets 
for  under-drains. 


216  LAKE  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

UNDER-DEAINING. 

In  under-draining,  the  tile  should  have  a  firm  bottom  and 
be  placed  below  frost.  I  have  used  boards  when  I  could  not 
get  deep  enough  for  tile,  and  also  in  peaty  soil.  Some  advocate 
placing  a  board  under  tile,  when  the  earth  is  too  soft  for  a  firm 
foundation ;  but  I  prefer  a  tube  made  wholly  of  boards.  This 
will  certainly  last  as  long,  and  has  the  advantage  of  being 
much  cheaper.  When  the  boards  rot  from  under  the  tile,  the 
foundation  is  gone.  When  soft  or  sandy  streaks  are  met  with 
in  clay  ground,  I  prefer  to  ram  in  clay  and  make  a  firm  bottom. 
By  digging  the  ditch  a  little  deeper,  a  good  bottom  can  easily  be 
made,  and  generally  requires  but  little  clay. 

Six  years  ago  I  laid  considerable  tile  with  boards,  and  they 
have  done  good  service.  Tile  cost  here  then  thirty  dollars  per 
thousand.  I  have  some  made  square  (n)  of  four  inch  strips; 
some  V  shaped  of  six  inch  strips,  and  some  of  two  pieces 
three  inc-hes  and  two  four  inches  (  Q  ).  For  three  inch  strips  I 
have  fencing  split  in  two.  In  nailing  it  is  a  good  plan  to  place 
a  sliver  between  the  boards  to  secure  free  entrance  of  the 
water.  The  crack  should  not  be  more  than  one-fourth  of  an 
inch  wide  and  this  only  on  the  bottom.  I  have  never  had  any 
trouble  from  filling.  I  always  use  tile  when  it  can  be  safely 
employed.  I  mention  boards,  because  there  are  places  where 
tile  can  not  be  used,  and  open  draining  is  inconvenient.  If 
there  is  water  in  the  bottom,  any  man  handy  with  a  spade  and 
draw  scoop  can  make  the  bottom  all  right.  When  there  is  no 
water  when  (Jigging,  first  dig  the  ditch,  then  draw  some  water 
and  empty  in  at  the  upper  end,  and  the  uneven  places  can  be 
easily  discovered  and  remedied.  Where  stone  is  plenty,  I  dig 
a  small  hole  two  to  three  feet  below  the  drain,  and  fill  with 
stone  to  about  one  foot  above  the  drain  covering  with  dirt.  I 
always  make  a  foundation  at  the  outlet.  If  stone  is  no.t  to  be 
had,  use  a  board  and  replace  with  another  before  the  first  one 
rots.  Draining  will  pay  a  larger  per  cent,  on  most  farms  than 
any  other  improvement  that  can  be  made.  I  have  had  some 
excellent  crops  of  hay,  oats,  and  corn,  where  ten  years  ago 
were  frog-ponds  and  muskrat  houses. 


BOARDS  BETTER  THAN  RAIL  FENCES.  217 


H.  J.  WHITMORE, 

CANTON,  FULTON  COUNTY. 

Boards  Better  than  Rail  Fences  —  Rolls  and  Harrows  the  Corn 
Ground  Before  Planting  —  Drainage. 

My  farm  consists  of  three  hundred  acres,  situated  in  Ban- 
ner township,  Fulton  county,  and  it  is  all  under  cultivation. 
The  out  boundary  fences  are  principally  post  and  board,  six 
boards  and  two  posts  to  the  rod.  The  inside  or  division  fences 
are  made  mostly  of  rails,  and  require  eighteen  rails  and  four 
stakes  to  each  rod.  The  board  fence  is,  in  my  estimation, 
much  the  neatest  fence,  and  I  prefer  it  in  this  locality,  for  the 
following  reasons.  First :  Suitable  rail  timber  is  very  scarce, 
making  it  almost  impossible  to  get  good  durable  rails.  Second  : 
A  rail  fence  requires  much  more  time  and  labor  to  keep  it  in 
repair,  as  it  is  frequently  blown  down  by  strong  winds,  thus 
leaving  the  crops  exposed,  and  forcing  the  farmer  to  drop  every 
thing  else  until  the  fences  are  rebuilt.  Third  :  Breachy  stock, 
which  are  a  great  trouble  to  the  owner,  and  a  source  of  un- 
pleasantness in  a  neighborhood,  are  invariably  the  result  of 
fences  out  of  repair.  A  rail  off  here  or  there  is  too  often 
neglected  until  the  stock  gets  over,  and  thus  a  habit  is  started 
that  increases  until  the  animal  becomes  perfectly  unmanageable, 
and  the  owner  becomes  only  too  glad  to  part  with  such  a 
creature  at  any  sacrifice.  But  such  is  seldom  the  case  with 
board  fences.  All  this  bother,  unpleasantness  and  extra  ex- 
pense to  keep  fencing  in  repair  is  done  away  with.  I  use  the 
rail  fences  for  division  or  field  fences,  because  they  are  more 
convenient  to  move,  a  very  great  advantage  which  rails  have 
over  all  other  kinds  of  fencing. 

I  divide  my  farm  into  fields,  none  of  which  exceed  forty 
acres.  A  lane  three  rods  wide  leads  from  the  barn  lots  and 
divides  the  farm,  from  which  access  to  adjacent  fields  can  be 


218  FULTON  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

had.  I  use  the  simple  sliding  farm  gate  for  entrance  to  fields, 
so  do  not  allow  a  fence  to  be  opened  for  passage  into  fields  or 
pasture  unless  it  can  not  be  avoided.  I  plant  about  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  acres  to  corn.  I  sow  no  wheat,  but  put  in 
from  fifteen  to  twenty  acres  of  oats.  My  oats  I  sow  as  early 
as  possible.  I  endeavor  to  have  part  of  my  corn  planted  in 
April.  I  usually  plant  one-half  of  this  crop  the  latter  part  of 
April  and  the  other  half  by  the  fifteenth  of  May.  I  seldom 
plant  later.  I  plow  the  ground  from  three  to  six  inches  deep 
for  corn,  and  roll  and  harrow  the  ground  thoroughly  before 
planting.  As  soon  as  the  corn  is  up  I  roll  and  harrow  it  again. 
I  plow  the  corn  three  times,  with  care,  but  not  oftener  than 
once  in  two  weeks.  Should  I  discover  any  bad  weeds,  after 
harvest  I  go  through  the  corn  with  hoes  and  cut  them  down. 

EARLY  SEEDING. 

My  experience  for  the  past  twenty-five  years  in  regard  to 
early  sowing  or  planting  is  decidedly  in  favor  of  early  seeding 
for  Spring  wheat  or  oats.  I  commence  as  soon  as  the  ground 
is  sufficiently  free  from  frost  to  admit  of  cultivation,  never 
waiting  long  after  the  frost  is  out  for  the  soil  to  dry.  The  soil 
is  not  injured  by  plowing  when  wet,  if  it  is  plowed  early, 
especially  if  there  should  be  some  freezing  after,  although  the 
freezing  will  kill  some  of  the  weakly  grains  and  makes  the  crop 
somewhat  thinner.  I  will  obtain  a  heavier,  better  quality  of 
grain  by  this  plan  of  early  sowing.  I  plow  from  two  to  four 
inches  deep,  and  sow  from  one  and  three-quarters  to  two 
bushels  of  wheat  per  acre,  and  from  two  and  a  half  to  three 
bushels  of  oats.  I  sow  broadcast,  harrow  and  cross  harrow, 
and  roll.  The  amount  of  seed  to  sow  profitably  per  acre  must 
be  determined  by  the  quality  of  the  soil.  If  the  soil  is  a  dark, 
rich  loam,  more  seed  can  be  sown  with  profit  than  when  the 
soil  is  lighter  and  thinner.  I  prefer  plowing  in  the  Fall  for  all 
field  crops. 

My  corn  crop  for  the  past  ten  years  has  yielded  over  fifty 
bushels  per  acre.  My  oat  crop  averages  about  thirty-five 
bushels  per  acre.  I  have  not  sown  Spring  wheat  within  the 


CATTLE   AND  HOGS.  219 

past  ten  years,  on  account  of  insects.  •  I  have  one  hundred  and 
twenty  acres  of  pasture  land,  divided  into  four  fields,  also  forty 
acres  of  meadow  land.  Cattle  do  better  by  changing  them  from 
one  pasture  to  another,  and  the  yield  of  the  pasture  is  far 
greater.  I  feed  from  thirty-five  to  fifty  head  of  steers,  and 
generally  keep  from  four  to  seven  cows.  I  have  a  thorough- 
bred bull  for  breeding  purposes.  I  have  eight  horses  for  farm 
work,  and  generally  raise  from  two  to  four  colts.  I  do  not 
believe  in  keeping  a  surplus  of  horses.  Whenever  they  are 
salable  I  dispose  of  them,  as  I  find  it  unprofitable  to  feed  more 
than  necessary.  I  raise  and  feed  from  one  hundred  to  two 
hundred  hogs  during  the  year.  I  fatten  for  early  market.  It 
pays  to  feed  early,  and  hogs  fatten  faster  during  the  pleasant 
weather  in  the  Fall.  I  have  the  best  Poland  China  and  Berk- 
shire swine. 

I  commence  to  feed  cattle  about  the  middle  of  July,  and 
feed  them  until  the  first  of  November,  giving  them  what  corn 
they  will  eat,  and  allowing  the  hogs  to  follow  after  and  pick 
up  the  waste  corn.  I  employ  three  hands,  usually  about  the 
middle  of  March  or  first  of  April,  keeping  them  four  months, 
and  also  hire  one  hand  for  twelve  months.  I  do  all  my  haying 
and  harvesting  with  these  men,  and  seldom  hire  extra  help 
for  any  purpose.  It  is  wise  policy  to  keep  the  best  hands, 
and  pay  good  wages. 

Land  in  the  vicinity  of  Canton  is  prairie,  sufficiently  roll- 
ing to  admit  of  easy  drainage.  It  is  neither  high  nor  low,  but 
the  farmers  have  been  able  to  raise  an  average  crop  in  seasons 
of  drouth  as  well  as  in  an  unusually  wet  season.  The  soil  is  a 
black  clay  loam. 

Fulton  county  is  well  located  for  agricultural  purposes. 
The  Illinois  river  forms  the  southern,  Copperas  creek  the  east- 
ern, and  Spoon  river  the  western  boundaries.  Big  creek  runs 
through  the  center,  and  the  bluffs  adjacent  to  these  streams 
furnish  an  abundance  of  wood,  coal  and  stone.  The  Chicago, 
Burlington  &  Quincy  and  the  T.  P.  &  W.  roads  cross  at  right 
angles  at  or  near  the  center  of  the  county,  and  through  it  runs 
the  Illinois  river.  Thus  we  are  afforded  ample  facilities  for  the 


220 


FULTON  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 


transporting  and  marketing  of  produce  to  and  from  all  parts ; 
and  being  situated  adjacent  to  Peoria,  we  have  already  a  market 
almost  equal  to  Chicago  or  St.  Louis.  The  great  advantages 
of  its  location  in  regard  to  market  facilities  can  readily  be  seen, 
lying  midway  between  Chicago  and  St.  Louis,  two  hundred 
miles  from  either. 

DRAINAGE. 

The  subject  of  drainage  is  becoming  a  matter  of  great  im- 
portance to  the  farmers  of  this  county.  Some  favor  tile  drains 
put  down  three  feet  deep.  The  average  price  per  rod,  using 
from  two  to  seven  inch  tile,  is,  about  seventy-five  cents.  The 
difference  in  the  cost  of  an  open  drain  of  the  same  depth  is  just 
about  the  cost  of  the  tile ;  but  the  advantage  of  the  tile  over 
the  open  drain  is  certainly  greatly  in  favor  of  the  tile,  as  the 
convenience  of  crossing,  and  the  amount  of  land  reclaimed  for 
cultivation  by  using  the  tile  in  two  years,  and  often  in  one  year 
alone,  will  save  the  cost  of  the  tiles.  At  least  such  is  the 
universal  opinion  of  those  who  have  had  much  experience  in 
the  matter  of  drainage.  No  greater  proof  of  this  is  needed 
than  the  fact  that  there  is  hardly  a  farm  in  this  vicinity  but  has 
at  least  fifty  rods  of  tile  drain  now  in  operation.  Tile  drains 
are  fast  superseding  open  drains  here. 

PLAN  OF  MY  BARN. 

Plan  of  barn  32x52  feet,  18  foot  posts.  The  barn  has  a 
brick  foundation,  with  ventilator  6x8,  and  a  shingle  roof : 


R 


B 


E 


A — Drive  way.  B  B — Main  stable,  14  feet.  C — Cow  stable,  12  feet 
d  d — Granaries.  E — Alley,  4  feet  wide.  Eight  feet  from  floor  to  hay  loft;  tight 
floors  over  stables  and  granaries. 


PLAN  FOR  CORN  CRIB.  221 

Plan  for  Corn  Crib,  26  feet  by  40,  10  foot  posts: 


B 


A— Drive  way  and  wagon  shed,  10  feet  wide.  B  B— Cribs,  8  feet  wide. 
A  tight  floor  over  drive  way,  forming  store  room  for  light  farm  implements, 
seed  corn,  etc.  Shingle  roof. 


J.    C.  WARE, 

• 

MAHOMET,   CHAMPAIGN   COUNTY. 

Pasture  and  Clover— Wheat— Oats— Corn— Crops  More 
Than  Doubled  from  Tile  Drainage  — Hogs  and  Their  Man- 
agement. 

My  farm  contains  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  roll- 
ing land,  situated  on  the  borders  of  the  Sangamon  timber,  one- 
half  mile  northwest  of  the  town  of  Mahomet.  Forty  acres  of 
the  farm  are  covered  with  a  very  fine  growth  of  young  timber, 
the  remainder  is  devoted  to  the  production  of  wheat,  corn,  oats, 
meadow  and  pasture.  The  crops  are  all  fed  on  the  farm  to  hogs, 
sheep  and  horses,  in  the  belief  that  the  raising  of  grain  for  mar- 
ket as  a  specialty  is  unworthy  of  the  age  in  which  we  live ; 
for  it  costs  to  transport  one  dollar's  worth  of  grain  to  market 
ten  times  as  much  as  it  does  the  same  value  of  animal  production. 
This  is  not  only  a  question  of  markets  and  present  profits,  but  it 
is  also  a  matter  which  bears  particularly  upon  the  fertility, 
future  value,  and  permanent  productions  of  the  farm.  While 
our  soil  is  extremely,  fertile  it  is  an  error,  fatal  to  a  common 


222  CHAMPAIGN  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

sense  system  of  agriculture,  to  exhaust  that  fertility  by  a  con- 
stant cropping  in  some  special  and  continued  channel. 

VALUE   OF   OLD   PASTURE. 

I  keep  at  least  one-third  of  all  my  land  in  pasture.  To 
accomplish  this,  I  have  fifty  acres  of  cleared  land  on  which 
there  is  a  thick  set,  tough  sod  of  blue  grass,  much  better,  I 
think,  than  can  be  produced  on  land  that  has  been  in  cultivation. 
This  I  regard  as  permanent,  and  endeavor,  by  pasturing  my 
timothy  and  clover  fields,  meadows,  stubble-fields  etc.,  to  keep 
it  for  Winter  pasturage.  I  am  fully  persuaded  that  this  fifty 
acres,  when  I  succeed  in  saving  the  Summer  and  Fall  growth, 
after  pasturing  for  two  or  three  months  in  Spring,  is  worth  as 
much  as  thirty  acres  of  corn  with  all  the  labor  and  expense  of 
the  latter's  production.  In  addition  to  this,  I  have  three  fields 
containing  from  forty  to  fifty  acres  each:  these  I  keep  heavily 
seeded^with  timothy  and  clover.  I  pasture  two  of  them  and 
sow  the  other  two  to  wheat,  in  regular  rotation.  After  seeding 
down  a  new  meadow,  to  which  I  usually  devote  at  least  thirty 
acres,  I  pasture  my  old  meadow  two  years,  feeding  on  it  during 
the  Winter  months,  to  properly  fertilize  it  for  the  two  or 
three  crops  of  corn  that  follow.  The  nature  of  the  soil  is  of 
such  wonderful  fertility  that  it  does  not  require  the  labor,  care, 
or  expense  of  preparing  compost  heaps,  making  vats  for  liquid 
manure,  and  purchasing  fertilizers.  But  it  can  not  be  denied 
good  management,  and  is  improved  by  rest  and  rotation  in  crop. 
Such  a  change  would  be  from  grain  to  grass  at  regular  periods. 
By  steadily  pursuing  this  plan  my  farm,  although  it  has  been 
in  cultivation  forty  years,  and  was  somewhat  exhausted  by 
constant  cropping  when  I  came  into  possession  of  it,  has  grad- 
ually improved,  until  fields  that  formerly  produced  from  twenty 
to  forty  bushels  of  corn  will,  with  the  same  labor  and  expense, 
now  produce  from  fifty  to  seventy  bushels  per  acre. 

THE  MOST  IMPORTANT   OBJECT   IN   SEEDING 

a  new  meadow  or  pasture,  as  well  as  other  crops,  is  to  pro- 
cure a  good  stand.     To  accomplish  this,  after  having  wasted  a 


CORN  — SULKY  PLOWS.  223 

vast  amount  of  time,  seed,  and  patience,  I  have  concluded  that 
there  is  but  one  way,  and  that  is  by  drilling  with  rye,  in 
September  or  October,  about  one  bushel  of  timothy  seed  to 
five  acres  of  land,  to  be  followed  by  four  quarts  of  red  clover 
the  following  Spring ;  but  not  until  all  danger  of  hard  freezing 
has  passed.  I  pasture  the  rye  until  the  middle  of  May,  by 
which  time  pastures  will  be  in  good  condition.  The  stock 
must  be  removed  and  kept  off  until  the  grain  is  formed ;  then 
I  pasture  with  horses,  hogs,  cattle,  or  any  kind  of  stock  that  I 
desire  to  fatten.  I  expect  enough  of  the  grain  to  remain  on 
the  ground  to  make  fine  feed  the  following  Fall,  and  a  good 
crop  the  second  year;  by  this  time  the  young  grass  will  have  a 
good  start  and  may  be  harvested  with  the  rye  for  feed,  or 
pastured,  as  circumstances  require.  I  am  careful  to  allow 
enough  of  the  clover  to  go  to  seed  to  re-seed  the  ground,  should 
the  old  growth  be  killed  by  a  hard  Winter. 

CORN. 

After  grass  for  pasture  and  meadow,  I  regard  corn  as  next 
in  importance ;  and  the  idea  being  that  any  one  can  raise  corn, 
I  think  accounts  for  the  fact  that  in  the  greatest  corn  producing 
State  in  the  Union,  the  average  yield  per  acre  is  below  thirty 
bushels.  The  few  good  farmers  in  every  county,  whose  crops 
of  corn  usually  average  from  fifty  to  seventy-five  and  as  high 
as  one  hundred  bushels  per  acre,  are  standing  witnesses  that 
the  low  average  yield  of  the  State  is  wholly  attributable  to  a 
lack  of  intelligent  cultivation.  The  best  preparation  for  corn 
is  to  plow  land  from  six  to  ten  inches ;  the  deeper  the  better 
when  done  in  the  Fall  or  early  Winter.  I  prefer  pasture  sod, 
oats,  or  wheat  stubble,  but  where  corn  is  to  follow  corn,  if 
at  all  possible  I  plow  the  stalks  under  in  the  Fall,  for  which 
purpose  I  find  the 

IMPROVED   SULKY  PLOWS 

especially  adapted.  I  am  convinced  that  the  advantages 
gained  last  year  by  the  use  of  one  on  fifty  acres  of  land,  upon 
which  there  was  too  heavy  a  growth  of  stalks  to  admit  of  em- 
ploying an  ordinary  two-horse  plow,  more  than  paid  the  cost 


224  CHAMPAIGN  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

of  the  plow.  An  increased  yield  was  produced  by  the  fertil- 
izing effects  of  the  decaying  stalks,  and  by  the  permeation  of 
the  soil  by  the  air,  snow,  frost,  and  rain  during  the  Winter. 
Land  plowed  in  the  Fall  should  in  no  case  be  replowed  in  the 
Spring ;  but  the  surface  should  be  thoroughly  cultivated  with 
an  ordinary  cultivator,  and  then  cross-harrowed  before  planting, 
which  can  be  done  with  planter  having  check-row  attachments. 
I  would  hire  extra  help,  whenever  it  is  required,  to  hoe  the 
corn,  for  I  am  convinced  from  observation  and  careful  experi- 
ments that  fine  results  can  be  thus  obtained. 

When  circumstances  render  the  plowing  of  the  land  in 
the  Fall  impossible,  I  plow  in  the  Spring  a  very  moderate 
depth,  not  more  than  four  inches.  I  am  so  thoroughly  con- 
vinced that  extremely  deep  plowing  in  the  Spring  on  our 
prairie  soil  is  not  only  a  waste  of  labor  but  an  absolute  injury 
to  the  crop,  that  I  would  not  allow  it  done  if  any  one  would 
furnish  the  team,  work  gratis  and  board  himself.  But  whether 
plowed  in  the  Fall  or  in  the  Spring,  check-rowed  or  drilled, 
success  can  not  be  attained 

WITHOUT  GOOD    SEED; 

not  only  as  to  variety,  but  also  in  the  manner  in  which  it  has 
been  saved.  Seed  corn  should  be  gathered  as  soon  as  the  husks 
on  the  earliest  ears  turn  yellow,  and  before  frost.  Go  through 
the  fields  and  select  the  choicest  ears,  then  either  tie  the  husks 
together  and  hang  on  poles  previously  fastened  to  the  barn 
rafters,  or  husk  carefully  and  place  in  a  bin  with  a  slat  bottom, 
in  the  loft  of  the  smoke-house,  where  the  corn  can  have  the 
benefit .  of  all  the  smoke  during  the  time  the  meat  is  being 
smoked.  I  believe  that  this  treatment  not  only  adds  to  the 
vitality  of  the  seed,  but  makes  it  extremely  unpalatable  to  rats, 
mice,  moles,  birds,  etc.  Planting  should  be  done  from  the 
twentieth  of  April  to  the  tenth  of  May,  depending  somewhat 
on  the  season.  My  experience  has  all  been  in  favor  of  early 
planting,  for  it  gives  the  corn  longer  time  to  mature,  and  the 
farmer  more  time  to  plow.  After  the  corn  is  planted  and  just 
as  it  begins  to  come  up,  the  ground  should  again  be  thoroughly 


GOOD  SEED  — WHEAT.  225 

harrowed;  this  has  the  effect  of  destroying  all  the  young  weeds 
that  are  just  starting,  pulverizing  the  soil,  and  letting  in  the 
heat  and  air,  thus  causing  the  corn  to  start  with  a  vigor  that 
remains  visible  during  the  entire  season.  I  then  first  use  the 
cultivator,  with  narrow  shovels  set  close  to  the  young  corn  and 
deep,  then  follow  by  frequent  plowings  with  the  larger 
shovels ,  keeping  the  ground  thoroughly  stirred  until  the  corn 
is  about  waist  high,  and  throwing  the  soil  to  the  corn  as  much 
as  possible.  The  last  plowing  should  be  done  by  the  fourth  of 
July.  I  regard  the  "  going  through  "  the  corn  with  hoes,  after 
harvest,  and  cutting  out  all  remaining  weeds,  as  very  important, 
not  only  for  the  purpose  of  clearing  the  land  of  noxious  growth 
that  would  choke  out  the  yield,  but  for  convenience  in  getting 
through  the  field  to  harvest  the  crop. 

WHEAT. 

The  yield  of  wheat  in  central  Illinois,  I  regard  as  equal 
to  that  of  any  other  State  in  the  same  latitude,  and  think  the 
many  failures  of  this  crop  are  largely,  if  not  altogether  attribu- 
table to  a  lack  of  drainage,  an  insufficient  pulverization  of  the 
soil,  bad  seed,  and  other  causes  easily  controlled  by  farmers  of 
average  intelligence  and  enterprise.  I  have  raised  wheat  for 
the  past  ten  years,  during  which  time  I  have  had  but  one  entire 
failure ;  with  that  exception,  my  lowest  yield  has  been  thirteen 
bushels  to  the  acre,  and  my  greatest  in  the  harvest  of  1879, 
which  was  a  fraction  over  twenty-eight  bushels  per  acre.  That 
season  was  an  unusually  favorable  one,  the  yield  on  some  fields 
in  this  locality  being  as  high  as  forty-one  bushels  per  acre.  My 
cleared  land,  the  soil  of  which  is  a  dark  clay  loam  is  better,  I 
think,  for  the  production  of  wheat,  than  is  the  prairie  soil ;  al- 
though I  have  had  good  success  with  the  latter  on  clover  sod, 
or  land  on  which  the  corn  has  been  "Hogged"  down — a  field 
on  which  there  has  been  an  early  crop  of  corn,  into  which 
there  has  been  at  once  turned  a  sufficient  number  of  hogs 
to  eat  it,  which  leaves  the  ground  slightly  packed  by  breaking 
down  all  the  stalks.  If  there  should  be  stumps  on  the  ground, 
as  is  the  case  on  some  of  my  newly  cleared  land,  which  pre- 
15 


226  CHAMPAIGN  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

vent  the  use  of  a  drill,  I  sow  broadcast  and  cover  the  grain  by 
breaking  the  ground  not  more  than  two  or  three  inches  deep, 
after  which  I  harrow  both  ways  until  the  soil  is  thoroughly 
pulverized.  I  do  not  allow  a  large  yield  and  high  prices  to 
induce  nie  to  sow  an  acreage  out  of  all  proportion  to  other 
farm  crops,  nor  to  thus  concentrate  in  two  months'  time  the 
work  cf  a  year. 

OATS. 

I  usually  devote  from  twenty  to  thirty  acres  of  my  thinnest 
land  to  the  production  of  oats,  preferring  that  plowed  in  the 
Fall.  If  this  is  not  convenient,  sow  broadcast,  as  early  in  the 
Spring  as  possible,  on  land  that  has  borne  corn  the  previous 
year ;  usually  selecting  that  intended  for  seeding  with  rye  and 
grass  the  following  Fall.  I  do  not  break  the  land,  but  cover 
the  grain  with  cultivator,  leveling  the  ground  with  a  harrow. 
The  price  of  oats  at  threshing,  seldom  pays  for  rent  of  land, 
seed,  labor,  putting  in,  harvesting  and  threshing.  However, 
oats  are  the  best  feed  for  farm  teams  during  the  Summer  season. 
I  also  like  a  good  straw  stack  for  shelter  and  feed  in  Winter ; 
and  the  oat  stubble  gives  an  additional  number  of  acres  for 
Fall  plowing,  affording  the  land  an  opportunity,  in  the  ensuing 
six  months,  to  feed  upon  the  atmosphere,  which  is  the  farmers' 
inexhaustible  manure  heap.  At  the  same  time  this  arrange- 
ment gives  a  greater  diversity  of  labor  throughout  the  entire 
season. 

FARM    DRAINAGE. 

Although  my  farm  is  quite  rolling  and  would  be  considered 
by  many  as  being  above  high  water  mark,  the  past  few  years 
have  but  confirmed  me  in  the  opinion  that  success  in  every 
department  of  farm  management,  including  the  moral  and 
physical  well  being  of  the  farmer  and  his  household,  depends 
upon  a  thorough  and  complete  system  of  drainage.  But  few 
mortals  are  endowed  with  sufficient  strength  and  grace  to  work 
in  mud  and  water  nine  months  of  the  year  without  failing  in 
one  and  falling  from  the  other. 

The  digging  of  tile  drains  costs  from  twenty  to  twenty- 
five  cents  per  rod.  The  cost  of  the  tile  is  from  $15.00  per 


FARM    DRAINAGE.  227 

thousand  for  two  inch  tile  to  850.00  per  thousand  for  seven 
inch  tile.  The  drains  should  follow  the  most  natural  channel 
and  should  be  at  least  three  feet  deep.  Great  care  should  be 
taken  to  procure  a  gradual  fall,  from  the  beginning  of  the 
drain  to  the  outlet,  and  the  latter  should  be  protected  from 
stock  by  enclosing  with  a  rail  fence. 

It  is  important  too,  that  a  hole  should  be  drilled  crosswise 
through  the  top  of  the  end  tile,  into  which  should  be  inserted 
a  large  wire,  supporting  a  trap  door  arranged  to  open  outward, 
admitting  an  uninterrupted  flow  of  water.  This  prevents 
rabbits,  skunks,  and  other  small  animals  from  entering  the 
mouth,  where  they  are  liable  to  get  fast  and  die,  thus  check- 
ing the  flow  of  water,  and  causing  the  tile  to  break  up  if 
there  is  a  good  fall,  or  fill  up  with  mire  if  there  is  but  a  slight 
one. 

I  have  no  hesitancy  in  saying  that  I  have  never  made  an 
investment  in  connection  with  the  farm  that  has  given  such 
permanent  and  satisfactory  results  as  that  of  tile  drainage. 

Through  the  north  half  of  the  farm,  consisting  of  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  rolling  prairie  land,  there  run  two- 
main  sloughs,  connecting  with  which  are  three  side  drains  or 
branches,  all  connecting  in  one  main  open  drain  on  the  east 
side  of  the  farm.  These  I  have  tiled  with  four  to  seven  inch 
tile,  as  the  amount  of  water  to  be  carried  off  seemed  to  require 
To  rightly  appreciate  the  benefits,  it  is  but  necessary  to  state- 
that,  although  this  land  has  been  in  cultivation  forty-eight- 
years,  in  all  that  time  these  sloughs  have  been  impassable  a. 
large  portion  of  the  year,  causing  the  miring  of  reapers  and 
mowers  and  consequent  delay  of  work  in  the  harvest;  the 
breaking  of  wagons  and  injury  to  farm  teams,  and  making  the 
hauling  of  more  than  a  half  load  of  grain,  hay,  manure,  rails, 
etc.,  at  any  season  of  the  year,  an  utter  impossibility.  These 
sloughs  have  carried  on  their  repulsive  bosoms  vast  quantities  of 
liquid  manure  and  decaying  vegetable  matter,  thereby  robbing 
the  adjacent  land  of  the  materials  necessary  to  its  fertility,  and 
in  return  producing  only  doctors'  bills,  disease,  death  and  taxes. 
Under  the  new  order  of  things,  I  am  enabled,  if  I  choose,  to 


228  CHAMPAIGN  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

plow  east,  west,  north,  or  south,  a  half  mile.  The  sloughs, 
that  were  formerly  such  a  source  of  annoyance,  now  produce 
more  than  double  the  amount  of  grass  or  grain  received  from 
the  high  land.  I  am  thus  enabled  to  start  my  plows  very  soon 
after  hard  rains,  thereby  gaining  time  in  the  Spring,  and  get- 
ting my  crops  in,  in  good  season. 

Any  farmer,  of  ordinary  intelligence,  will  readily  admit 
that  it  requires  no  more  labor  to  produce  forty  acres  of  corn, 
on  land  that  can  be  plowed  from  one  side  to  the  other,  each 
way,  than  it  does  to  cultivate  thirty-five  acres  on  the  same 
land,  with  a  slough  running  in  an  angular  direction  through  it. 
This  being  true  we  lose  five  acres  out  of  every  forty  (one- 
eighth,  or  twelve  and  one-half  per  cent,  of  all  our  labor,)  on 
undrained  lands. 

SWINE. 

From  my  earliest  experience  as  a  farmer  to  the  present 
time,  the  rearing  and  breeding  of  swine  has  been  of  great 
interest  to  me.  I  regard  this  as  a  source  of  profit,  and  I  have 
always  taken  great  pleasure  in  advancing  the  quality  of  any 
stock  that  I  handle,  to  the  greatest  possible  degree  of  excel- 
lence ;  and  during  seasons  of  low  prices  and  prevalence  of 
disease  I  have  never  relaxed  my  efforts.  For  following  cattle, 
I  think  the  Berkshires  superior  to  all  others.  They  are  active, 
and  are  excellent  gleaners.  I  would  also  prefer  them,  were  I 
compelled  to  keep  them  in  small  enclosures. 

Farmers  who  are  making  a  specialty  of  hogs,  and  have 
good  range,  think  the  Poland  China  has  no  equal,  it  being  a 
superior  grass  hog,  having  large  capacity  for  feed,  and  produces 
a  greater  number  of  pounds  in  a  given  length  of  time  than 
other  breeds.  I  breed  my  sows  to  bring  the  pigs  during  March 
and  April,  keeping  an  exact  record  of  the  time.  I  never,  under 
any  circumstance,  allow  the  boar  to  run  with  the  sows.  I  have 
had  the  best  success  with  old  sows,  except  when  they  were 
allowed  to  become  too  fat.  I  think  they  give  more  vitality  to 
their  pigs. 

In  order  to  succeed  with  early  pigs,  it  is  necessary  to  pro- 


CARE   OF  SWINE.  229 

vide  the  sows  with  a  warm,  dry  pen,  that  will  admit  the  sun- 
shine. For  this  purpose  I  built  a  piggery  one  hundred  feet  long 
and  twelve  feet  wide,  floored  with  two  inch  lumber,  divided 
into  twenty  pens.  Seven  feet  of  the  north  side  is  covered  with 
a  roof  slanting  to  the  north  and  open  to  the  south.  The  sows 
are  put  up  a  week  or  ten  days  previous  to  pigging,  and  are  kept 
up  until  the  pigs  are  old  enough  to  follow,  when  they  may  be 
let  out,  if  the  grass  is  dry  and  the  weather  pleasant ;  but  they 
should  be  kept  up  until  the  dew  is  off,  to  prevent  scurvy,  a 
disease  frequently  mistaken  for  cholera,  and  produced  by  feeding 
the  sow  very  sour  swill  or  by  the  succulent  condition  of  the 
grass  during  the  prevalence  of  Spring  rains.  This  disease  can 
be  checked  by  feeding  the  sow  threshed  oats  and  giving  astrin- 
gents in  slops,  made  of  shorts  and  bran,  that  has  not  been  allowed 
to  sour. 

The  pens  should  be  kept  perfectly  clean,  and  furnished  with 
fresh  beds  at  least  twice  a  week.  Pigs  can  be  weaned  when 
two  months  old.  After  separating  them  from  the  sows  they 
should  be  given  the  best  of  care,  and  the  best  food  should  be 
provided  them.  Milk,  sweet  or  sour,  and  meal,  or  oats  and 
corn  ground  together,  are  excellent,  and  should  be  fed  regularly 
three  times  a  day. 

As  the  pigs  grow  older,  and  the  weather  becomes  settled, 
I  give  plenty  of  range  and  exercise,  feeding  with  shelled  and 
soaked  corn  until  the  corn  is  sufficiently  matured  to  feed  with- 
out waste.  I  then  fence  off  a  part  of  the  field,  usually  about 
one  acre  to  every  ten  hogs,  keeping  a  trough  containing  equal 
parts  of  ashes,  salt,  and  lime,  with  an  occasional  supply  of  coal 
screenings.  I  market  Spring  pigs  at  eight  to  ten  months  of 
age  to  give  room  for  the  Summer  pigs.  I  allow  the  sows  to 
run  on  new  corn,  as  they  will  thus  make  a  fine  growth  during 
pleasant  weather.  Provided  with  good  shelter  and  soft  feed, 
they  can  be  taken  through  the  Winter  in  good  shape.  My  hogs 
make  a  good  growth  on  clover,  the  following  Summer,  and  go 
into  market  in  the  Fall,  after  having  eaten  a  field  of  early  corn, 
planted  for  their  especial  benefit.  It  is  true  that  the  other 
grasses  will  accomplish  somewhat  similar  results,  but  I  con- 


230  CHAMPAIGN   COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

sider  clover  "head  and  shoulders"  above  all  the  rest.  In 
breeding  hogs,  strict  adherence  to  a  well  denned  system,  and 
a  reasonable  amount  of  attention  to  all  details,  combined  with 
good  judgment,  will  insure  success. 

TOP   DRESSING. 

There  is  nothing  upon  the  farm  that  requires  more  care 
and  judgment  than  the  application  of  fertilizers.  The  barnyard 
and  other  decaying  vegetation  constitute  our  greater  supply, 
while  every  thing  else  should  be  carefully  saved. 

Experience  has  satisfied  me,  that  top-dressing  newly  seeded 
land,  as  a  rule,  is  the  best  that  can  be  done,  especially  if  the 
land  be  seeded  with  clover.  One  good  top  dressing  will  largely 
increase  the  production  of  hay  or  pasture  for  several  years,  and 
will  put  the  soil  in  excellent  condition  for  corn,  or  wheat,  or 
any  other  grain.  A  good  crop  enriches  the  farmer;  a  poor  crop 
impoverishes  him.  It  is  just  as  easy  to  realize  an  average  of 
sixty  bushels  of  corn,  twenty-five  of  wheat,  or  forty  of  barley, 
which  is  only  a  moderate  estimate,  as  to  only  raise  half  that 
quantity,  as  many  of  our  farmers  are  doing.  If  your  land  is 
naturally  poor,  or  is  exhausted  by  any  means  whatever,  the 
first,  and  only  thing,  that  will  make  you  a  successful  farmer, 
is  Jto 

GIVE  IT  FERTILITY  AND  VIGOR 

and  then  keep  the  land  in  that  condition,  no  matter  at  what 
cost. 

WATCH  YOUR  LANDS, 

and  if  any  spot  shows  signs  of  weakness  or  exhaustion,  fertilize 
it  immediately,  from  your  barnyard,  or  with  compost,  or  clover. 
Better  that  your  land  should  be  in  clover  three-fourths  of  the 
time,  than  to  raise  one  poor  crop  of  grain  from  it.  Whatever 
kind  of  seed  you  sow,  always  be  sure  that  it  be  healthy  and 
vigorous.  This  is  an  important  matter,  and  should  never  be 
neglected.  It  is  estimated  that  the  corn  crop  during  the  year 
1879  in  Kane  county  alone,  from  planting  poor  seed,  was  defi- 
cient over  200, 000  bushels.  This  at  forty  cents  a  bushel,  would 


EARLY  SOWING  — GOOD  TOOLS.  231 

amount  to  $80,000.  At  the  same  rate  throughout  the  State  of 
Illinois  (and  we  have  good  reason  to  believe  that  in  many 
counties  the  deficit  was  much  greater),  we  have  the  enormous 
loss,  by  sheer  negligence,  in  the  corn  crop  alone,  of  over 
f> 8,000,000,  and  yet  the  mass  of  our  farmers  will  not  learn 
wisdom. 

EARLY    SOWING 

is  also  very  important  and  early  as  well  as  thorough  cultivation, 
and  early  harvest  is  equally  so.  From  my  long  experience  I 
will  only  add  that  all  the  work  upon  the  farm  ought  to  be 
done  well,  early  and  intelligently. 

NO  FAKMER  CAN  SUCCEED  UNLESS  HE  HAS  GOOD  TOOLS, 

good  teams,  good  help,  good  stock,  good  land,  and  above  all 
good  management. 

In  this  prairie  land  nature  has  done  her  part ;  if  the  hus- 
bandman does  his  as  well,  success  is  certain.  Let  farmers, 
then,  learn  to  blame  the  culture,  not  the  soil.  When  the  crop 
is  raised  and  secured,  the  next  important  question  is,  what  is 
best  to  do  with  it?  If  the  crop  is  sold  in  the  markets  and 
nothing  returned  to  replenish  the  exhausted  land  that  produced 
it,  a  cruel  robbery  is  committed,  and  the  first  step  towards  the 
impoverishment  of  the  farm  and  its  owner  has  been  taken.  If 
it  be  converted  on  the  farm,  into  stock,  beef,  pork,  wool,  mut- 
ton, and  dairy  products,  the  yield  of  a  generous  and  munificent 
soil  will  in  a  measure  be  repaid.  While  the  demands  of  com- 
merce and  the  equality  of  the  markets  require  the  sale  of  large 
quantities  of  produce,  it  is  important  that  every  farmer  employ 
as  much  as  possible  of  it  for  feed  at  home.  But  if  it  be  sold, 
something  else  must  be  used  to  repay  the  soil. 

STOCK. 

The  breeds  of  stock  raised  should  be  selected  with  the 
greatest  care,  and  then  continual  improvement  towards  its 
highest  excellence  should  be  the  constant  object  of  the  farmer. 
It  costs  no  more  to  raise  a  good  animal  than  one  with  but  little, 
or  no  value  ;  while  the  former  enriches,  ennobles  and  dignifies, 


232  CHAMPAIGN  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS 

the  latter  impoverishes,  weakens  and  disgraces  a  farmer  and 
his  profession. 

BEST  BREEDS   OF   CATTLE. 

For  beef,  the  Durhams  stand  in  the  front  rank ;  for  dairy 
alone,  the  Jerseys  have  attained  the  greatest  celebrity;  the 
Devon  is  a  beautiful  animal,  hardy  and  good  for  either  purpose ; 
the  Herefords  and  Holsteins  are  excellent  breeds  of  cattle,  and 
with  proper  care  are  well  adapted  for  beef  and  the  dairy.  I 
have  seen  many  well-bred  herds  of  what  is  called  common 
cattle,  that  filled  the  bill  in  all  its  requirements.  A  herd  well- 
graded  up  with  the  Short-Horns  would  serve  the  purpose  of  a 
mixed  husbandry  better  than  any  other.  First  consider  the 
adaptation  of  your  farm  and  its  products,  then  the  main  ob- 
jects of  your  pursuit;  then,  with  much  care  and  discretion 
select  your  herd  accordingly.  But  whatever  kind  you  may 
choose,  bear  in  mind  always,  that  care  and  feed  are  the  indis- 
pensable elements  that  make  up  a  good  and  profitable  herd  of 
cattle,  either  for  beef,  dairy,  or  fancy  stock. 

SHEEP  AEE  ABOUT  THE  VERY  BEST 

animals  for  a  farm.  They  require  dry  land,  pure  water,  tight 
fences,  good  shelter,  good  care,  and  good  keep ;  with  these 
requisites  they  will  much  improve  the  fertility  of  a  farm,  and 
the  prosperity  of  its  owner. 

"Wool  and  mutton,  the  productions  of  the  flock,  are  both 
very  important.  If  the  former  be  your  object,  the  LSpanish 
Merinos  will  be  your  selection.  If  the  latter,  the  Leicester  or 
Cotswold  will  serve  your  purpose  best.  The  first  three  or  four 
years  are  the  best  wool-producing  periods  of  a  sheep's  life. 
Their  growth  is  also  matured  in  the  same  time.  Then,  usually, 
deterioration,  especially  in  fleece,  commences. 

I   HAVE   ADOPTED   THE    FOLLOWING   RULE. 

Early  in  the  Fall  I  select  from  my  flock  every  sheep  above 
three  years  old  for  feeding  purposes,  except  occasionally  a  fine 
stock  ewe  which  I  hold  one  or  two  years  longer.  To  these 
feeders  I  give  special  attention,  fattening  them  on  oats  and 


PORK.  233 

corn  mixed  in  equal  proportions  by  measure,  and  in  Winter  all 
the  clover  hay  they  will  eat,  until  about  the  first  of  May. 
Then  I  shear  and  sell  the  sheep  for  mutton,  thus  turning  every 
sheep  at  its  maturity,  while  the  rest  of  the  flock  are  all,  or 
nearly  all,  below  the  age  of  four  years. 

I  am  raising  the  Leicesters,  which  produce  a  long,  fine  and 
strong  fibre,  generally  worth  a  little  more  per  pound  in  the 
markets,  than  the  Merino  fleece,  but  not  so  heavy ;  while  their 
mutton  qualities  are  unsurpassed. 

POKK. 

is  a  staple  and  important  product  of  many  sections  of  this 
Western  'country.  In  raising  this  I  find  an  easy  and  quick 
'way  to  convert  nearly  all  the  grains,  the  grasses,  and  the  offal 
of  the  entire  farm.  The  hog  consumes  much  that  would  be 
an  entire  loss  without  him.  From  the  many  breeds  of  hogs 
I  have  chosen  the  Berkshires  and  the  Poland  Chinas ;  for  my 
grade  sows  I  use  a  thorough-bred  sire  from  each,  alternately. 
The  Berkshire  give  me  the  muscle,  action  and  endurance,  the 
Polands  give  the  size  and  the  fat,  making  the  best  cross,  and 
the  best  fattening  hog  I  have  ever  had.  None  of  the  females 
are  used  for  breeding  purposes  except  the  very  best,  in  perfect 
health,  while  the  sire  is  always  selected  with  great  care  from 
some  remote  herd.  Each  female  is  provided  with  a  separate 
pen  or  litter  at  least  one  week  before  her  delivery.  No  two 
broods  should  be  allowed  to  run  together  while  nursing,  unless 
about  the  same  age,  as  the  stronger  will  rob  the  weaker.  All 
deformed,  inferior  or  apparently  unhealthy  pigs  I  dispatch  at 
once.  The  offal  from  the  dairy  and  from  the  kitchen,  well 
mixed  with  oat  meal,  is  the  best  food  for  the  growth  of  the  pig 
I  have  ever  used ;  better  cooked  than  raw. 

Hogs  must  have  a  full  supply  of  good  wholesome  food, 
with  clean  quarters  and  a  good  dry  bed.  The  pig,  as  he  gets 
age  and  strength,  must  have  a  chance  for  exercise  on  dry  land, 
in  a  pure,  healthy  atmosphere ;  a  good  clover  field  with  a 
tight  fence  and  dry  clean  quarters  for  sleeping  is  the  very  best 
place  you  can  give  him ;  in  fact,  I  regard  a  good  clover  field 


234  CHAMPAIGN  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

as  indispensable  to  the  health  and  growth  of  the  hog.  Clean, 
pure  water  is  also  an  important  health  measure.  Young  corn 
cut  up  about  the  time  the  ears  are  forming,  and  later,  is  an 
excellent  food  for  making  bone  and  muscle,  and  to  give 
health.  Any  or  all  of  the  different  kinds  of  grain  mixed  jfnd 
ground  or  soaked  in  water  a  day  or  two,  produce  good  results. 

FEED    THE   PIG 

and  the  growing  hog  sparingly  of  corn,  as  it  alone  is  too 
strong  and  heating,  liable  to  cause  disease.  In  the  more  ad- 
vanced stage  of  his  life,  in  the  fattening  process,  corn  or  corn 
meal  is  the  best  food  he  can  have,  and  much  the  better  if  it  be 
well  cooked.  A  good  hog-house,  warm,  dry,  clean  and  well 
ventilated,  with  sufficient  capacity  to  accommodate  the  herd 
without  crowding  is  absolutely  necessary  to  success.  I  raise 
a  hundred  pigs,  and  fatten  from  sixty  to  eighty  hogs  yearly, 
and  while  millions  of  dollars  are  lost  all  over  this  country,  by 
hog  disease,  my  nearest  neighbors  being  large  sufferers,  I  never 
had  a  case  of  it  on  my  farm. 

The  hog  will  be  filthy  if  you  force  him  into  it,  and  disease 
will  ensue;  but  he -will  be  clean,  thrifty  and  healthy  if  you 
make  him  so. 

DAIRY    AND   MANAGEMENT. 

I  keep  a  small  dairy,  from  twelve  to  eighteen  cows,  sta- 
bling them  in  the  stone  basement  of  a  large  barn,  warm  in 
Winter  and  cool  in  Summer.  I  make  butter  which  sells  for 
the  highest  market  price.  My  dairy-room,  or  creamery,  is  10x20 
feet,  and  is  located  in  the  north-west  corner  of  my  house,  well 
built,  and  remote  from  all  infections.  I  have  a  water  tank  in 
the  north  end,  twenty-two  inches  deep,  through  which  a  current 
of  cold  water  is  continually  passing.  -My  milk  is  immediately 
set  into  this  tank,  in  cans  eight  inches  in  diameter  and  twenty-. 
two  inches  deep.  I  churn  with  dog  power,  and  do  the  dairy 
work  myself.  I  have  an  excellent  cellar  for  storage  purposes. 
I  raise  my  calves  on  skimmed  milk,  and  meal  from  two  parts 
of  oats  and  one  of  corn.  I  fatten  a  car-load  of  steers  about 
every  other  year.  My  aim  is  always  to  raise  horses  enough 


WATER  — THE  SOIL  235 

to  supply  the  demands  of  the  farm,  and  occasionally  sell  a 
team  ;  and  my  buildings  are  all  good,  and  well  located. 

THE    WATER 

for  my  entire  stock  is  raised  from  an  inexhaustible  well,  by  a 
wind-mill,  into  a  tank  built  of  stone  on  an  elevated  piece  of 
ground  and  with  a  capacity  of  seven  hundred  barrels.  By 
means  of  iron  pipes  it  is  conducted  to  my  barnyards,  hog-house, 
and  two  pasture  fields  that  corner  near  the  well,  also  into  my 
house  aiid  creamery — all  of  which  is  protected  from  freezing. 


J.  M    GALE, 

BRISTOL,  KENDALL  COUNTY. 

The  Soil — Construction  of  the  House — Boss  Churn — How  to  Con- 
struct Barn  Frames — Dirt  Floors — Methods  of  Wheat,  Corn 
and  Potato  Culture — Management  of  Hogs  and  Cattle — Cost 
and  Prices  of  Farm  Productions. 

The  farm  on  which  I  live  contains  about  100  acres  of  land, 
located  on  the  middle  of  Sec.  28,  T.  37,  N.  R.  7,  east  of  the  3d 
P.  M.  It  lies  between  the  Fox  river  on  the  east,  and  Black- 
berry creek  on  the  west,  commanding  a  fine  view  for  miles 
around, — the  villages  of  Yorkville  and  Bristol  near  by,  the 
Kendall  County  court-house  to  the  southwest,  and  to  the 
northeast  twelve  miles  away  the  city  of  Aurora. 

THE  SOIL 

is  dark  loam,  with  clay  subsoil  to  the  depth  of  four  to  six 
feet,  below  which,  through  sand  and  gravel,  is  water,  at  12 
to  25  feet  from  the  surface.  The  water  is  the  purest  of  lime- 
stone, cold  enough  for  any  person  or  beast  to  drink  when 
fresh  drawn.  The  farm  has  been  in  cultivation  since  1836-38 
and  40,  without  much  attention  being  given  to  keeping  it  up, 
till  within  a  very  few  years  past.  I  am  now  recuperating  it  as 
fast  as  possible  with  red  clover  and  timothy  for  pasture  and 


236  KENDALL  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

hay,  and  barn  yard  manures  made  and  kept  mostly  in  sheds. 
I  consider  manures  thus  made  and  preserved  worth  from 
three  to  ten  times  as  much  as  that  allowed  to  leach  out  doors. 
The  farm  is  fenced  with  four  and  five  boards,  and  two  pieces 
of  hedge,  about  100  rods  in  all,  and  common  fence  of  rails. 

BUILDINGS. 

To  be  successful  in  farming,  it  is  essential  to  have  good 
buildings,  sufficient  for  the  housing  and  storing  of  all  stock, 
grain,  hay,  agricultural  and  other  implements,  so  arranged 
as  to  give  the  fewest  steps,  both  in  and  out  doors.  The  plans 
of  my  barn  and  lots  are  given,  from  a  study  of  which,  I  believe 
that  it  will  be  found  that  they  contain  very  many  of  these 
advantages.  The  buildings  have  temporary  sheds  for  hogs 
occupying  the  space  between  the  barn  and  double  corn  crib, 
with  the  feeding  platform  in,  on  which  to  feed  hogs.  My 
house  was  built  in  1870.  It  is  constructed  of  wood,  brick 
and  stone.  The  cellar  is  built  with  a  five  foot  stone  wall,  18 
inches  thick,  and  is  divided  into  four  rooms  with  brick  walls. 
One  room  contains  a  fire-proof  vault  for  ashes  and  for  smoking 
meats.  The  three  chimneys  coming  down  to  the  bottom  of  the 
cellar,  are  set  on  stone  work  twice  the  size  of  their  base.  Its 
cost  was  about  $3,950.  It  could  probably  be  duplicated  now 
for  about  $3,000.  The  superstructure  is  two  stories,  of  9  feet 
and  8  feet  10  inches  respectively,  pine  for  frame  and  for  the 
most  part  of  the  finishing.  Black  walnut  for  mouldings  and 
panels  in  some  of  the  doors ;  butternut  and  black  walnut  in 
others.  Black  walnut  and  pine  wainscoting,  walnut  and  cherry 
mixed  for  newel  post,  balusters  and  stair  railing.  Painted 
outside  with  white  lead  and  raw  oil.  Green  paint  for  blinds. 
Inside  the  finish  is  boiled  oil,  two  coats,  thoroughly  dried  be- 
tween coats,  and  a  coat  of  coach  varnish,  which  we  have  found 
with  nine  years'  wear  to  carry  a  beautiful  finish  and  to  stand  bet- 
ter than  paint.  It  is  easily  cleaned  by  wiping  off  occasionally 
with  a  damp,  clean  cloth.  The  position  of  the  doors  and  beds, 
two  very  essential  things  in  constructing  a  house,  is  such  that 
the  doors  will  open  and  lie  back  out  of  the  way,  and  the  beds 


HOUSE,  GROUNDS  AND  BUILDINGS. 


237 


C&fapte 


OChtalpia         QEim 


238  KENDALL  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

not  set  against  a  window.  The  work  was  all  done  by  the  day,  by 
myself  and  others,  and  is  a  first  class  job  throughout,  myself 
and  one  other  doing  the  most  of  the  work,  including  lathing, 
painting  and  inside  finish.  The  house  is  sheathed  outside 
with  matched  flooring,  furred  one-half  inch,  and  sided,  and 
grouted  in  behind  the  mopboards. 

We  use  wood  for  fuel,  but  shall  soon  introduce  base  burn- 
ing coal  stoves.  Kerosene  for  lights,  but  were  I  now  construct- 
ing, would  use  gas,  made  on  the  spot  from  gasolene  —  there 
being  a  machine  in  use  in  our  township,  which  has  given  entire 
satisfaction  for  nearly  four  years. 

THE  ICE  AND  DAIRY  ROOMS 

are  constructed  in  a  good  substantial  manner,  but  are  not 
expensive. 

For  dairy  tools,  I  get  the  best.  There  are  many  patents 
for  both  churning  and  butter  working. 

THE  BOSS   CHURN 

is  the  barrel,  hung  by  trunnions  in  a  frame  having  two  uprights 
to  receive  it,  and  turned  over  endwise  with  a  crank,  or  pulley 
attached  to  a  horse,  or  other  power.  It  has  the  simplest  pos- 
sible device  for  fastening  in  and  taking  out  the  head,  and 
is  probably  the  best  churn  extant,  there  being  nothing  in  it  to 
cut  or  break  the  grain  of  the  butter. 

FOR  A  BUTTER  WORKER, 

a  simple  tapering  tray  set  on  three  legs,  with  front  one 
the  lowest,  with  a  large  rolling  pin,  tapered  also,  attached  by 
the  small  end  to  the  small  end  of  tray,  by  a  swivel,  rolling  from 
side  to  side  over  the  butter,  is  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  any 
thing  yet  made.  Whatever  is  used  should  have  no  sharp 
corners  to  it  to  cut,  or  break  the  grain  of  the  butter.  A 
table  counter  one  side  of  the  room  and  scales  of  150  or  200 
pounds  capacity  about  complete  the  outfit  for  the  dairy  house, 
beside  the  cans  for  both  the  milk  and  cream. 

BARN     FRAMES. 

Having  had  some  experience  in  building,  and  having 
studied  how  to  obtain  the  greatest  strength  and  convenience 


BARN  FRAMES.  230 

at  the  smallest  cost,  I  give  the  plan  of  end  and  side  elevation 
of  a  barn,  framed  and  built  of  small  or  light  material,  except 
sills  (and  even  these  can  be  dispensed  with,  where  set  on  stone 
masonry,  as  all  good  buildings  should  be),  also  the  floor  plan ; 
which  can  be  changed  in  size  to  suit  the  wants  of  the  indi- 
vidual and  location. 

There  are  two  sets  of  rafters,  one  for  the  roof,  the  other  for 
tying  the  building  together,  doing  away  with  the  beams  and 
braces  usual  in  barn  frames.  The  stud  should  come  to  the 
upper  edge  of  the  rafters,  the  foot  of  one  pair  being  set  on  one 
side  and  the  foot  of  the  other  pair  on  the  other  side  of  it,  made 
fast  with  two  or  more  §  inch  iron  bolts,  or  of  a  size  to  suit  the 
width  of  the  building.  The  lower  rafters,  which  tie  the  building, 
cross  each  other  near  the  top,  their  ends  being  bolted  to  the 
upper  or  roofing  pair,  as  well  as  at  their  point  of  crossing.  There 
will  be  no  get  away  to  them.  This  makes  a  self-supporting  roof, 
without  beams  and  braces,  which  are  always  more  or  less  in  the 
way  in  filling,  especially  if  done  with  the  horse  fork.  The 
horse  fork  can  be  attached  under  these  lower  rafters.  At  the 
drive  way  and  ends  there  should  be  braces  as  shown  in  the  cut, 
and  if  the  building  is  large  (such  as  one  38  by  150  feet,  8  foot 
basement  for  cattle,  and  22  feet  above,  belonging  to  Dexter 
Severy,  at  LeLand,  LaSalle  county),  it  should  have  braces 
similar  to  the  ones  shown  in  the  elevations,  for  supporting  the 
side  walls,  at  intervals  of  10  or  12  feet,  that  they  may  not  be 
blown  in  when  the  barn  is  empty ;  and  one  at  the  end,  or  per- 
haps two,  if  the  building  is  forty  feet  wide. 

Timbers  2x4,  2x6,  2x8,  and  larger  for  heavy  structures, 
can  be  used,  and  even  fencing  for  hog  and  sheep  pens,  fastened 
with  clinch  nails. 

I  am  using  dirt  floors  in  drives,  and  hog  pen  sleeping 
apartments  are  best  so  filled  a  foot  above  the  level  outside, 
being  occasionally  taken  out  and  carried  on  the  land  and 
renewed.  Manure  sheds  and  cellars  would  be  better  cemented 
to  hold  all  the  liquids,  as  they  are  the  best  part  of  the  manure. 
Cement  under  horses  and  cattle  with  a  slope  to  the  manure 
cellar  when  possible.  It  will  all  pay. 


240  KENDALL   COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

Having  as  briefly  as  I  could,  given  the  details  of  my 
buildings,  I  will  give  now  my 

METHODS   OF    FARMING. 

The  farm  is  divided  into  four  fields  with  necessary  feed 
lots.  One  lot  is  in  grass  for  pasture,  and  is  intended  to  be  kept 
in  good  condition  for  cows  the  whole  season.  The  cattle  are 
changed  into  the  meadow  after  the  first  crop  is  off  and  the 
grass  well  up.  I  pasture  new  seeding  late  in  the  Fall  if  it  is 
rank  or  if  there  is  not  enough  of  ordinary  pasture.  In  seeding 
down  we  now  use  mostly  oats.  I  prefer  to  seed  with  wheat  or 
rye,  but  as  we  do  not  sow  much  of  these  grains,  we  have  to  be 
content  with  oats.  I  sow  thinner  than  for  the  best  results  for 
the  grain  alone.  There  is  too  much  leaf  and  shade  if  sown 
thick  that  will  smother  the  young  grasses  out.  Half  of  one 
large  field  is  put  in  corn,  and  the  other  half  seeded  with  small 
grain.  The  next  season  the  whole  field  is  seeded  and  ready 
for  pasture. 

When  I  wish  to  seed  down  my  land,  I  very  often  plow  up 
but  half  the  field  after  it  has  been  in  pasture  two  or  three 
yearst  spreading  fifteen  or  twenty  double  box  loads  of  manure 
according  to  the  quality  of  it. 

WHEAT. 

I  stir  the  ground — corn  stubble,  usually, — about  five 
inches  deep,  dragging  down  stalks  first,  or  cutting  them  with 
stalk-cutter.  Harrow  twice,  then  sow  on  seed.  Follow  with 
harrow  three  times  more,  if  I  intend  to  seed  it  to  grass,  sowing 
the  grass  seed  before  the  harrow  goes  over  the  last  time,  and 
rolling.  Three  draggings  may  do  on  some  land,  if  it  is  plowed 
well  by  the  sulky  plows.  I  sow  all  by  hand. 

FOR    OATS 

we  plow  an  inch  deeper,  and  finish  as  for  wheat. 

FOR   CORN 

we  plow  still  deeper.  If  sod,  use  pulverizing  harrow  both 
ways,  and  before  it  dries  I  harrow  the  first  way  again.  Har- 
row with  Scotch  harrow  once  or  twice,  just  before  planting, 
which,  to  insure  the  crop  from  cut-worms,  should  be  deferred 


PLAN  OF  BARN  FRAMES. 


S'ltd  2x8/7?  22/if .         Jtaf/trs  same  length 


It 

a 

-5- 


z 


Studs  arimiafters 


'2x8  inch. 


I 


Drop  2  »Vicft.j|| 


I)r<n>  'i  'inch.   1 


242  KENDALL  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

till  near  the  last  of  May  ;  I  also  use  a  roller.  For  old  ground, 
use  the  harrow  as  fast  as  plowed,  or  just  the  roller  simply, 
each  day,  as  plowed.  You  will  then  have  no  lumps.  Harrow 
thoroughly  before  planting,  to  kill  any  weeds  that  may  be 
coming  up.  Plant  with  well  selected  seed,  picked  early, 
braided,  or  tied,  and  hung  up  in  some  good,  dry  place,  and  if 
kept,  after  dried,  over  the  kitchen  in  the  Winter,  all  the  better. 
Plant  plenty  of  kernels,  so  as  to  have  enough  in  the  hill,  pull- 
ing out  all  but  three  stalks  after  they*  are  well  started.  This 
will  make  some  extra  work,  but  is  far  better  and  certainly 
every  way  cheaper  than  to  replant.  The  practice  of  farmers 
of  late  years,  has  been  to  harrow  just  before  the  corn  gets  out 
of  the  ground,  and  afterwards.  I  have  done  this,  but  have 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  I  will  not  do  it  any  more,  but, 
instead,  cultivate  with  shovels,  set  close  to  the  corn,  as  it  is 
just  appearing,  turning  about  almost  immediately.  I  cultivate 
once  a  week,  if  possible,  or  at  least  five  times  altogether, 
using  the  double  cultivator  as  long  as  I  can,  finishing  the  last 
time  with  a  one-horse  cultivator,  using  the  hoe  the  third  time 
over,  then  thinning. 

FOR    POTATOES 

we  want  the  land  in  about  the  same  condition  as  for  corn,  open- 
ing a  furrow  about  three  feet  and  a  half  apart  for  the  seed, 
which  (if  I  want  the  nicest  potatoes  of  suitable  size  for  the 
table),  I  cut  to  one  eye,  or  not  to  exceed  two  eyes.  These 
should  be  dropped  in  a  true  line  in  the  bottom  of  the  furrow, 
just  about  fifteen  inches  apart.  Cover  with  a  hoe,  two  or  three 
inches,  harrowing  the  land  thoroughly  just  as  the  first  plants 
begin  to  break  through  the  ground.  This  will  also  settle 
any  weeds  that  may  appear.  When  up  three  or  four  inches, 
cultivate  the  potatoes  with  double  cultivator,  coming  close  to 
the  plants,  setting  teeth  wider  apart  at  each  time  through.  If 
the  ground  is  lumpy,  use  the  roller  before  planting,  as  for  corn, 
and  after  being  harrowed  when  coming  up. 

STOCK  —  KINDS  AND  TREATMENT. 

For  cattle,  I  have  high  grade  Durham  cows.    Have  good 


HOGS  — POLAND   CHINA.  243 

pasture.  Stable  those  to  be  milked.  Tie  in  stalls,  like  horses, 
with  rope  around  neck,  and  to  the  middle  of  mangers. 
Bed  at  night  with  straw,  when  kept  in  over  night.  In  Sum- 
mer they  are  yarded.  Brush  off  the  cows'  bag  and  right  side 
with  a  coarse  brush,  before  milking,  not  allowing  any  dust  or 
extraneous  matter  to  get  into  the  milk  pail.  With  such  milk, 
in  a  dairy  house  with  good  tools,  there  is  no  trouble  in 
making  the  very  best  butter.  The  cows  get  for  their  Winter 
feed,  clover  and  timothy  hay,  and  some  corn  after  they  have 
gleaned  the  corn  fields  well.  Sometimes  add  a  little  bran  or 
shorts  with  regular  salting,  twice  a  week. 

HOGS  —  POLAND  CHINA. 

The  Poland  China  I  have  had  for  five  years,  and  like  them 
the  best,  all  things  considered. 

They  have  good  clover  and  timothy  pasture,  running  with 
the  cows  in  Summer.  They  are  given  an  ear  or  two  of  corn,  sows 
and  all,  twice  a  day,  with  occasionally,  for  sows  and  young  pigs, 
oats  and  corn  ground  and  made  into  a  slop,  with  a  little  salt 
in  it  for  an  appetizer,  together  with  kitchen  slops,  milk  from 
the  dairy,  when  not  fed  to  the  calves,  being  mixed  in.  Salt 
and  wood  ashes  are  set  at  some  seasons  of  the  year,  before  them, 
that  they  may  eat  at  their  pleasure  from  troughs  made  of  two 
planks,  8x10  inches  wide,  spiked  firmly  together,  and  ends  put 
in  of  same.  I  fatten  with  corn,  beginning  about  the  first  of 
September  for  the  Winter  market  and  the  first  of  August  for 
the  September  market,  the  hogs  being  kept  in  good  thriving 
condition  all  the  time.  I  have  been  raising  from  eighty  to  one 
hundred  annually  for  some  time,  but  shall  curtail  in  that 
branch  of  farming  to  about  fifty  or  sixty,  and  I  hope  other" 
will  do  so,  too,  as  the  supply  seems  to  be  too  great. 

COST   AND    PRICES    OF   FARM   PRODUCTIONS. 

I  have  a  number  of  times  within  my  experience  in 
farming  (twenty -four  years),  attempted  to  arrive  at  the  cost  of 
wheat,  corn,  oats  and  pork,  our  chief  productions.  The  prices 
of  land  and  labor  and  the  seasons  vary  so,  however,  that  it  is 
impossible  to  arrive  at  exact  statements.  But  I  have  reached 


244  KENDALL  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

the  conclusion,  that  with  land  at  $50  and  upward  per  acre,  and 
only  moderate  buildings,  the  taxes  we  pay,  the  cost  of  labor  and 
the  varying  seasons,  wheat  can  not  be  raised  on  small  farms 
of  100  to  200  acres  short  of  $1.00  to  $1.25  per  bushel,  corn  50 
to  60  cents,  oats  40  to  45  cents ;  and  consequently  hogs  must 
bring  6  to  7  cents  to  allow  the  farmer  anything,  above  the  corn 
they  eat,  for  pasturage  and  the  care  of  feeding,  bedding,  pump- 
ing water,  etc.,  things  not  always  taken  into  account  by  most 
of  us. 

All  of  these  things  must  be  taken  into  the  account,  or  we 
are  doing  injustice  to  ourselves.  Wo  should  have  interest  on 
the  money  invested  in  lands,  teams,  harness,  farm  implements, 
stock,  a  certain  percentage  for  wear  and  tear  and  insurance, 
and  reasonable  wages  for  all  in  the  house,  as  well  as  in  the 
field. 

Agricultural  societies  used  to  try  to  arrive  at  these  results, 
and  our  farm  journals  published  their  conclusions,  but  I  have 
not  seen  this  attempted  for  several  years. 

THE  MIDDLE   MEN   FIX   OUR   PRICES. 

We  practically  have  nothing  to  say  about  it.  We  go  to  our 
market  town  and  simply  ask,  What  are  you  giving  for  wheat, 
oats,  corn,  cattle,  hogs,  potatoes,  apples  ? — anything  we  have. 
They  state  the  price.  We  take  it,  and  go  back  and  seek,  by 
good  cultivation  and  harder  work,  to  get  or  grow  from  our 
soil,  or  additional  acres,  one-quarter,  one-half  or  double  what 
we  raised  the  previous  year,  for  the  same  number  of  persons  to 
consume,  and  then,  after  all,  have  to  be  content  with  a  still 
less  price  for  having  produced  the  more. 


GRAIN. RAISING  A  FAILURE.  245 

T.  H.  BARR, 

ARGEXTA,   MACON  COUNTY. 

Successful  Management  of  Hogs  on  Common  Sense  Principles 
—  Artichokes  —  Sheep. 

I  am  but  .in  amateur  farmer  and  stock  raiser,  having  com- 
menced my  career  of  farming  at  the  age  of  thirty-seven  years. 
My  business  prior  to  that  time  had  been  merchandising  and 
railroading.  In  1865  I  emigrated  from  O'.iij  to  Macon  county, 
Illinois,  and  purchased  the  land  I  now  own,  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  of  unimproved  prairie,  excepting  that  there  was  a 
small  house  on  the  premises,  and  about  twenty  acres  were 
under  cultivation.  The  land,  like  most  land  in  central  Illi- 
nois, is  very  rich,  having  a  deep  vegetable  loam  underlaid  by 
a  mixed  sand  and  clay  subsoil,  moderately  flat,  with  some 
ponds  and  sloughs. 

When  I  took  possession  I  contracted  a  debt  of  about  three 
thousand  dollars,  began  making  improvements  and  undertook 
to  pay  for  them,  make  a  living  and  pay  my  debt,  by  raising 
grain  and  selling  it  in  the  market.  It  was  eight  miles  to 
our  nearest  market,  the  road  to  it  being  such  an  one  as  we 
might  select  across  the  unimproved  prairie  that  intervened, 
which  at  hauling  season  was  generally  very  bad  indeed. 

The  result  of  this  grain-raising  operation  was,  that 
although  I  raised  fair  crops  and  generally  got  what  was 
considered  fair  prices,  I  found  in  a  few  years  that  instead  of 
paying  off  my  debt,  it  was  getting  bigger.  I  was  adding 
something  to  my  convenience  by  way  of  improvements,  but 
under  the  shrinking  process  of  the  times,  —  money  getting 
scarcer, — the  land  would  sell  for  little  more  than  first  cost 
with  all  the  improvements  thrown  in. 

This  state  of  affairs,  I  found,  must  cease,  or  bankruptcy 
and  ruin  would  end  my  career  as  a  farmer.  After  holding  a 
consultation  with  my  better  half  (that  best  of  all  business 


246  MACON   COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

counselors  to  a  man  in  straightened  circumstances),  I  concluded 
to  turn  over,  as  the  saying  is,  a  new  leaf.  I  ordered  some 
improved  hogs  of  the  Poland  China  stock.  I  handled  a  few 
cattle,  for  the  purpose  of  using  up  the  roughness  that  would 
otherwise  have  gone  to  waste,  but  made  hogs  a  specialty,  and 
although  I  have  from  year  to  year  sold  many  for  brood  pur- 
poses, I  never  realized  what  is  called  fancy  prices, —  the  bulk 
of  them  having  been  sold  in  the  usual  way.  But  from  the 
time  I  commenced  to  handle  the  hogs  to  the  present,  I  have 
been  measurably  successful,  having  lived  better,  made  more 
and  better  improvements,  and  so  far  diminished  my  indebted- 
ness as  to  remove  all  mortgages  and  incumbrances  from  the 
title  to  the  land,  being  able  long  since  to  pay  the  balance  of 
my  indebtedness.  So  much  for  the  general  history  of  my 
operations. 

HOGS. 

As  to  my  plan  of  managing  hogs  so  as  to  have  made  them 
profitable,  let  me  say  that  I  have  built  no  expensive  hog 
houses,  and  have  rarely  cooked  any  food ;  outside  of  a  liberal 
use  of  mill-food,  consisting  of  bran,  ship-stuff  and  shorts, 
five  dollars  will  pay  for  all  condiments, — oil-cake,  sugar,  and 
molasses, — fed  to  my  hogs  in  the  last  ten  years.  I  have 
labored  at  all  times  to  make  them  comfortable  in  their  pens, 
studied  to  keep  them  well  fed,  well  watered,  well  slopped, 
and  clear  of  all  filth,  both  in  their  food  and  quarters.  The  result 
is  that  in  all  that  time  I  have  had  no  touch  of  the  disease 
called  cholera,  and  little  or  no  "sty  fever,"  excepting  that 
occasionally  a  few  sows  after  farrowing  have  been  overfed,  and 
as  a  consequence,  the  litters  would  have  the  scours.  I  have 
rarely  had  a  pig  or  a  hog  die  of  any  disease.  Fifty  dollars 
will  pay  for  all  the  lumber  used  in  constructing  hog  houses 
and  pens  that  I  ever  built. 

I  have  about  a  dozen  shed  pens,  six  by  seven  feet,  with  an 
open  feed  floor  in  front ;  these  pens  are  for  the  sows  in  farrow- 
ing time,  and  during  the  Winter  we  use  them  for  sleeping 
quarters  for  the  store  hogs. 


ARTICHOKES  —  SHEEP.  247 

ARTICHOKES. 

And  here  let  me  say  a  word  for  the  much  discussed  root, 
the  Artichoke.  For  the  last  two  years  I  have  made  a  liberal 
use  of  it  for  Fall,  "Winter,  and  Spring  feed,  for  store  hogs, 
and  find  it  to  be  all  one  could  desire.  I  allow  the  hogs  to 
root  for  it,  which  they  do  with  a  will.  Last  year  my  store 
hogs  lived  on  artichokes,  excepting  when  the  ground  was 
frozen,  from  November  first  till  about  the  middle  of  May. 
This  season  I  have  only  about  thirty-five  store  hogs ;  they  are 
now  in  high  condition,  fat  enough  for  market,  and  their  living 
is  two  ears  of  corn  per  head  each  day  and  the  full  run  of  the 
artichoke  patch.  With  me  the  yield  per  acre  is,  without  cul- 
tivation, about  five  hundred  bushels. 

SHEEP. 

In  concluding,  I  will  give  my  little  experience  with  sheep, 
and  a  description  of  a  sheep  fold  or  house  I  obtained  while  on 
a  visit  in  southwestern  Ohio.  Two  years  ago  I  purchased  a  few 
grade  South  Down  and  common  sheep,  and  used  a  choice  South 
Down  buck  on  them.  The  result  is  very  gratifying;  the  little 
flock  has  doubled  itself  each  year,  the  ewes  twinning  almost 
invariably,  the  yearling  wethers,  when  clipped  and  taken  to 
the  butchers,  weighing  an  average  of  one  hundred  twenty-five 
pounds,  and  usually  bringing  three  to  three  and  one-half  cents 
per  pound  gross  in  our  market,  and  the  average  clip,  for  two 
years  past,  has  been  six  and  three-quarter  pounds  of  wool  per 
head.  The  feed  in  Summer  is  grass  exclusively,  in  Winter 
hay,  straw,  and  corn  fodder,  to  the  general  flock.  The  ewes 
get,  after  lambing,  till  grass  comes,  a  feed  of  corn  once  a  day. 
What  the  actual  profit  is  I  am  not  prepared  to  state,  but  my 
best  opinion  is,  that  it  pays  as  well  as  any  other  stock  one  can 
handle  here  in  Illinois.  I  find  that  these  grade  South  Downs 
are  very  healthy.  The  plan  of  sheep  house  referred  to  above 
will  accommodate  from  three  to  four  hundred,  and  is  as  follows : 

SHEEP-HOUSE. 

The  main  building  is  twenty -five  by  twenty-five,  the  corner 
posts  being  sixteen  feet  high,  to  admit  of  a  large  hay  loft ;  lower 


248  FULTON  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

« 

story  seven  feet,  which  is  used  for  bins  for  grain,  and  part 
cut  off  for  a  room  for  weak  sheep  or  ewes  with  very  young 
lambs ;  on  three  sides  a  shed  addition  is  attached,  divided  into 
three  departments,  one  for  wethers,  one  for  lambs,  and  the 
other  for  ewes  with  lambs.  A  slide  from  the  hay  loft  is  con- 
structed of  matched  boards  on  the  face  next  to  feed  room,  and 
the  face  next  to  shed  is  slatted,  so  as  to  form  a  rack  for  hay. 
Immediately  under  the  rack  is  a  V  trough  so  as  to  open 
inward  to  feed  room  and  outward  to  shed,  that  feed  may  be 
poured  in  for  sheep  to  eat  from  shed  side.  The  surrounding 
ground  is  divided  into  three  lots  corresponding  with  the  three 
sheds.  These  lots  are  used  for  outdoor  racks  and  ranges  for 

o 

the  sheep  to  take  exercise  in,  and  if  they  are  large  fields,  all 
the  better,  as  the  pasture  will  thereby  communicate  directly 
with  the  sheep  fold. 


CYRUS  SMITH, 

CANTON,  FULTON  COUNTY. 

A   Well  Drained  and  Improved  Farm  —  Converts   Most  of  the 
Grain  into  Beef —  Horses,  Cattle,  Hoys  and  Sheep. 

My  farm  comprises  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land, 
situated  one-half  mile  from  the  city  of  Canton,  being  a  square 
tract,  one  hundred  and  sixty  rods  each  way,  crossed  by  a  small 
stream  of  water  that  enters  about  thirty  rods  from  the  north- 
west corner  and  makes  its  exit  near  the  southeast  corner,  fur- 
nishing an  abundant  supply  of  stock  water.  This  is  underlaid 
with  six-inch  tile  the  entire  length,  except  six  rods  near  the 
center  of  the  farm,  where  the  water  is  forced  to  the  surface  for 
stock.  The  farm  is  surrounded  by  a  substantial  post  and  board 
fence,  five  boards  and  two  posts  to  each  rod  ;  the  inside  fences 
being  similar.  I  use  this  kind  of  fencing  because  it  is  neat, 
convenient,  durable,  and,  in  most  localities,  the  most  economical. 
Tho  manner  in  which  the  farm  is  divided  into  fields,  etc.,  can 
readily  be  seen  by  the  accompanying  map  and  description,  viz. : 


PLAN   OF  FARM. 


240 


PUBLIC  ROAD. 


NORTH. 

T.  I',  .fc  W.  R.  R. 


a — Corn  crib,  h — House,  g — Garden.  0 — Orchard.  W — Wagon  sliecl 
and  chop.  JJ — Barn,  d — Chicken  liouso.  c — C.ilf  house,  s — Sheep  house. 
E — Cattle  barn.  F — Hog  house.  K — Water  trough. 

Commencing  at  the  northwest  corner  are  three  acres  planted  in 
fruit  trees ;  directly  cast  of  and  adjacent  to  orchard  is  the 
main  entrance  leading  from  public  road  ;  east  of  entrance  way 
is  door-yard  and  dwellings  ;  south  of  dwelling  is  garden  lot ; 
south  of  garden  is  barn  and  adjacent  lots,  with  the  location  of 
the  buildings  on  same;  east  of  dwelling  is  a  lot  about  three 
acres,  for  calf  pasture  ;  a  lane  six  rods  wide  leads  from  calf  lot 
directly  south  to  the  middle  of  the  farm,  thence  the  lane  is 
continued  east  to  within  forty  rods  of  the  east  line  ;  from  this 
lane  entrances  to  adjacent  fields  and  pastures  are  convenient ; 
this  lane  being  adjacent  to  barn  and  stock  lots,  forms  a  conven- 


250  FULTON   COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

lent  passage  way  from  the  same  to  any  part  of  the  farm,  also 
to  the  watering  place. 

The  character  of  my  farm  is  not  of  any  one  exclusive  kind, 
but  my  object  and  aim  is  to  keep  stock  enough  to  consume  the 
larger  portion  of  the  grain  produced  on  the  farm,  for  by  so 
doing  some  part  of  the  farm  is  yearly  changed  from  pasture  to 
cultivation  ;  and  this  changing,  together  with  the  manure  that 
naturally  collects  in  the  lots  where  the  stock  is  sheltered  and 
fed  being  carted  and  scattered  on  the  pastures,  gives  each  sea- 
son a  field  for  corn  with  fresh  fertile  soil,  which  certainly  can 
not  be  obtained  as  cheap  in  any  other  way.  Besides,  the  fre- 
quent changing  into  pasture  aids  greatly  to  keep  the  land  free 
from  noxious  weeds  which  invariably  accumulate  if  a  farm  is 
devoted  yearly  to  the  raising  of  grain. 

GRAIN  RAISING. 

I  sow  from  ten  to  twenty  acres  of  Winter  wheat ;  I  sow 
no  Spring  wheat  unless  the  Winter  wheat  kills  out.  I 
plow  three  inches  deep,  harrow  thoroughly,  and,  just  before 
sowing,  go  over  the  field  with  a  stick  of  timber  eight  inches 
square  and  ten  feet  long,  which  pulverizes  the  lumps  and  levels 
the  surface,  filling  up  all  holes  and  leaving  the  ground  in  such 
condition  that  when  the  seed  is  sown  and  covered  up,  it  is  of 
an  even  depth.  I  sow  broadcast  one  and  one-half  bushels  per 
acre.  I  sow  in  the  latter  part  of  September,  and  if  the  wheat 
kills  badly  during  the  Winter,  sow  the  ground  with  an  early 
variety  of  Spring  wheat.  Harvesting  costs  from  $1.00  to  $1.50 
per  acre  ;  the  cutting  is  done  by  reaping  machines,  of  which 
there  are  many  varieties,  but  my  experience  is  in  favor  of  those 
which  carry  the  binder.  These,  with  two  men  to  bind,  one 
man  to  shock  the  grain,  and  a  boy  to  drive,  will  readily  put  up 
eight  to  ten  acres  every  day.  With  these  there  is  no  scattered 
grain  left  here  and  there  in  binding ;  the  scatterings  are  drop- 
ped on  the  binding  table,  from  which  they  are  gathered  and 
bound  in  neat  sheaf.  They  save  the  cost  of  one  or  two  hands, 
which  is  quite  an  object.  I  sow  about  fifteen  acres  of  oats,  pre- 
paring the  ground,  seeding  and  harvesting  in  the  same  manner 


STOCK  RAISING.  251 

as  for  wheat.  I  plant  fifty  to  sixty  acres  of  corn,  plowing  no 
deeper  than  for  wheat  (about  three  inches)  ;  harrow  thor- 
oughly, and  use  the  same  kind  of  pulverizer  just  before  plant- 
ing. I  use  check  rower  on  planter  ;  harrow  just  before  corn 
comes  through  the  ground.  As  soon  as  it  is  well  up,  I  go 
through  with  a  two-horse,  iron-beam  cultivator.  I  cultivate 
often  enough  to  keep  clear  of  weeds,  and  late  in  season. 

STOCK  RAISING. 

Horses — I  keep  six  horses,  and  raise  usually  two  colts,  aiming 
to  breed  from  the  roadster  class.  I  prefer  horses  of  about 
twelve  hundred  pounds  weight.  I  feed  but  little  grain  to 
horses  when  not  working,  but  keep  them  well  sheltered,  giving 
them  free  access  to  stalk  fields  during  winter. 

Cattle — I  keep  thorough-bred  cattle  (Durhams)  for  breed- 
ing, let  the  calves  that  I  want  for  breeding  stock,  run  with  the 
cows  until  six  months  old,  but  calves  that  I  want  for  feeders  I 
keep  away  from  the  cows  and  raise  by  hand.  I  usually  milk 
from  six  to  eight  cows.  The  cows  are  brought  into  the  cattle 
barn  and  fastened  by  the  neck  with  a  chain  previous  to  milk- 
ing ;  here  they  remain  until  morning,  and  if'weather  is  stormy, 
they  remain  here  during  the  day,  except  a  short  time  they  are 
let  out  to  get  water.  I  feed  milch  cows  bran  and  meal ;  feed 
also  hay  or  straw  for  roughness,  when  they  are  not  allowed  to 
go  out  in  the  pasture. 

Hogs — I  keep  from  fifteen  to  twenty  brood  sows,  of  the 
Poland  China  stock,  aiming  to  have  pigs  come  early  in  the 
Spring — not  later  than  April.  I  feed  stock  hogs  only  enough 
grain  to  keep  them  in  a  thriving  condition.  I  commence  fat- 
tening Spring  pigs  the  first  of  October. 

Sheep — I  keep  one  hundred  ewes,  cross  breed  from  Cots- 
wold  to  Lincolnshire,  which  gives  bigger  sheep  and  finer  wool, 
the  wool  selling  for  from  one  to  two  cents  more  per  pound. 
I  feed  ewes  oats  and  hay  ;  the  sheep  for  market  are  fed  corn. 
The  increase  in  sheep  each  year  is  marketed  the  next. 

Chickens — I  keep  two  hundred  chickens,  preferring  the 
light  Brahmas  and  Dorkings  crossed.  I  have  house  and  lot 


252 


FULTON  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 


for  chickens,  but  do  not  confine  them  in  the  lot  during  the 
day.     They  are  allowed  to  wander  through  the  barn  and  stock 
lots,  and  especially  in  the  orchard  to  look  after  the  insects. 
I  raise  but  few  turkeys,  and  those  of  the  Bronze  variety. 

THE   PLANS   OF   MY  BUILDINGS. 

Ground  plan  of  barn,  42x34  feet,  with  18  feet  posts;  brick 
foundation,  8  feet  from  floor  to  loft : 


D 


A,  12  feet. 


A— Drive  way,  12  feet.    B— Hay  bay,  16x23.     C— Corn  crib,  GxlG.    D— 
Stable,  14  leet  wide.    E— Entrance,  3  feet  wide.    Shingle  roof,  with  ventilator 
on  top,  6x8  feet- 
Plan  of  double  Corn  Crib,  24x32  feet ;  brick  foundation, 
12  feet  posts  : 


A — Drive  way,  9  feet  6  inches  wide  on  floor,  8  feet  at  top  of  cribs;  differ- 
ence in  width  of  drive  way  at  top  ami  bottom,  to  give  better  circulation  of  air. 
B  B — Cribs,  7  feet  3  inches  at  bottom,  8  feet  at  the  top.  Shingle  roof,  with  ven- 
tilator 4x6  feet  on  top.  Double  doors  closing  drive  way,  hung  on  rollers. 
Double  matched  floor  of  inch  pine. 


HOG  HOUSE  — COW  STABLE. 


253 


Plan  of  Hog  House,  24x80  feet,  and  8  feet  posts ;  ventilator 
on  top,  GxS,  shingle  roof. 


D 


E 


A — Passage  for  feeding,  3  feet  wide.    B. — Pens  for  brood  sows, 
with  window  in  each  3x4,  3  feet  from  the  ground.    C — Floor  11  feet  wide  for 
feeding  on.    D — Corn  crib,  7x11  feet.    E  E — Water  trough,  on  main  floor. 


Plan  of  Cow  Stable,  24x48  feet,  shingle  roof,  8  feet  posts: 


D 


E 


A— Passage  for  feeding,  4  feet  wide.  B — Stable  for  cows,  with  stanchions. 
C — Stable  for  feed  cattle,  with  stanchions,  3  feet  wide.  D — Box  stall  for  cow 
at  calving  time.  E — Corn  crib,  6x10  feet. 


254 


FULTON  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 


Plan  of  Sheep   House,  24x48  feet,  8  feet  posts,  shingle 


roof  : 


D 


A — Hay  rack  in  center,  4  feet.    B — Side  hay  rack,  3  feet  wide.    C — Grain 
trough.    D — Double  Doors.    E — Granary,  shingle  roof. 


Plan  of  Hen  House,  12x20,  8  feet  posts.  The  rack  for 
roost  formed  by  three  bars,  one  end  resting  on  floor  at  front 
end  of  building,  the  other  extending  back  12  feet,  fastened  to 
cross  plate  at  the  eaves. 


a  a  a — Boxes  for  nests,  d — Door,  b  b — Rack  for  roosts,  with  slats  3 
inches  wide,  18  inches  apart.  Three  windows  in  front  of  roost,  3  feet  long, 
8x10  sash,  3  feet  from  floor.  Two  feet  above  this  window,  a  second  window, 
10x14  sash. 


WAGON  AND  CARRIAGE  HOUSE. 


255 


Plan  of  Wagon  and  Carriage  House,  20x32  feet,  18  feet 
posts : 


Fig.  1. 


A 

(Fig.  2.) 

G 

C 

B 

I) 

D 

D 

Fig.  1  represents  ground  floor  for  wagons,  carriages,  and  heavy  farm 
implements ;  8  feet  to  upper  floor,  open  on  front  side. 

Fig.  2,  upper  floor  of  wagon  house,  10  feet  from  floor  to  eaves.  A — Shop. 
B — Store  room  for  light  farm  implements.  C  C — Granaries,  5x8  feet. 
D  D  D— Granaries,  5x10  feet. 


R.  C.  MUNGER, 

CHEBANSE,   IROQUOIS  COUNTY. 

Shallow  Plowing  Recommended  for  Corn — Hog  House  —  Flax 
Culture  —  Mules. 

I  was  born  and  raised  on  a  farm,  and  began  farming  for  my- 
self in  1858.  My  farm  is  situated  on  Section  14,  Township  of 
Milk's  Grove,  Iroquois  County,  Illinois.  It  is  in  a  desirable 
location  for  the  production  of  corn,  oats,  potatoes,  timothy  and 
red  clover,  but  the  climate  is  hardly  favorable  to  wheat.  My 
forte  has  been  corn  and  hogs. 

CORN    CULTURE. 

I  have  raised  quite  a  number  of  cattle,  horses,  and  mules, 
which  have  paid  very  well ;  but  in  this  county  corn  and  pork 
are  kings.  I  have  tried  the  various  ways  of  planting  corn ; 
check  row,  drill,  and  in  hills  rowed  one  way,  but  have  had 
most  success  planting  in  hills,  three  feet  eight  inches  in  the 
row,  taking  out  the  second  drop  in  the  planter,  allowing  the 
hill  of  three  to  five  grains  to  scatter  along  the  row  from  six  to 
ten  inches,  and  cultivating  one  way.  This  mode  I  have  fol- 
lowed for  eleven  years  without  deviating. 


256  IROQUOIS  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

My  method  of  preparing  the  soil  is  to  plow  all  I  can  as 
early  in  the  Fall  as  possible  (the  dryer  the  better  for  the  com- 
ing crop),  with  three  good,  heavy  horses,  and  plowing  as  deep 
as  the  nature  of  the  soil  will  admit.  I  commence  with  new 
land,  first  plowing  after  breaking  from  four  to  five  inches,  and 
going  one  inch  deeper  each  succeeding  plowing,  until  I  reach 
eight  or  ten  inches. 

Shallow  plowing,  say  four  to  five  inches  deep,  I  find  to 
produce  more  corn  than  deeper  plowing  in  the  Spring.  For 
the  past  eleven  years,  my  corn  land  has  varied  from  two  hun- 
dred to  four  hundred  and  fifty  acres  each  season. 

Each  man  Avith  team  has  forty  acres  of  corn  and  fifteen 
acres  of  oats  and  flax  to  raise.  From  the  time  the  plow  is 
started  in  the  Spring  until  the  corn  is  too  large  to  cultivate,  I 
do  not  allow  the  man  and  team  out  of  the  field  a  single  day 
for  anything,  unless  for  rain.  After  plowing,  a  good  double 
harrowing  precedes  the  planter;  'and  behind  the  latter  four 
rows  comes  a  three-horse  harrow,  with  teeth  set  at  an  angle  of 
forty -five  degrees.  Just  before  the  corn  comes  through  the 
ground,  I  give  one  more  harrowing,  and  as  soon  as  I  can  see 
the  row,  I  start  the  cultivator  (a  good  one  that  will  scour)  and 
let  it  in  deep,  throwing  the  earth  close  to  the  corn.  The  first 
time  through  is  the  time  to  stir  the  soil  and  kill  the  weeds; 
this  will  cover  up  a  good  deal  of  corn,  but  stop  and  uncover  it. 
The  second  time  through  I  use  a  two-bladed  scraper  with 
blades  two  inches  wide  at  the  front,  and  tapering  to  one  inch 
at  the  heel.  The  third  time  I  use  the  cultivator,  but  not  so 
deep  as  the  first  time.  The  fourth  time  I  use  scraper  with 
addition  on  heel.  The  fifth  time  I  hoe  and  pull  the  weedy 
places,  if  there  are  any;  if  not,  I  make  hay.  Thorough  culti- 
vation is  what  makes  corn.  If  the  cornfield  is  left  to  itself  for 
two  weeks  after  planting,  it  is  best  to  use  checkrow,  and  then 
if  not  cultivated  thoroughly,  there  will  be  weeds  in  the  hill  and 
the  crop  materially  injured. 

HOGS. 

I  usually  market  from  one  hundred  to  two  hundred  and 
fifty  hogs  a  year.  My  pasture,  which  is  indispensable  as  to 


HOGS  — OATS  AND  FLAX.  257 

profit  and  health  of  the  hog,  contains  eighty  acres  timothy  and 
blue  grass.  My  hog  house  is  one  hundred  and  ten  feet  long 
by  eighteen  wide,  arranged  with  panels  to  enclose  or  divide 
into  twenty-eight  departments,  with  alley  in  the  center.  The 
pens  are  used  for  breeding  sows,  in  the  month  of  May.  When 
the  pigs  are  ten  days  old,  I  turn  into  clover  pasture. 

At  the  end  of  the  hog  house  is  the  wind-mill,  with  a  large 
tank,  which  is  always  full  of  pure  well  water.  I  have  not 
lost  a  hog  with  cholera  or  diphtheria,  in  eleven  years.  To  make 
a  success  in  raising  pork,  we  must  keep  our  stock  as  pure  as 
possible ;  one  cross  does  very  well,  but  breeding  from  the  cross 
degenerates  and  makes  an  uneven  lot.  I  prefer  the  Poland 
China,  using  a  select  male,  no  relation.  Sticking  to  the  busi- 
ness through  low  prices  as  well  as  high,  I  find  in  the  end,  I 
make  more  money  by  feeding  the  corn,  than  by  hauling  it  to 
the  market. 

OATS   AND  FLAX. 

In  raising  oats  and  flax-seed,  I  have  had  quite  an  expe- 
rience. For  oats,  I  plow  the  ground  well,  sow  the  seed  before 
harrowing,  then  harrow  thoroughly  both  ways,  and  if  the 
ground  be  lump}*,  or  a  drouth  follows  sowing,  I  roll  within 
two  or  three  weeks  after  the  oats  are  up. 

Flax-seed  is  a  good  crop  to  raise,  and  a  profitable  one,  if 
raised  on  rented  land,  and  the  land  is  new ;  but  the  lease 
must  not  run  too  long.  It  takes  the  life  out  of  the  land 
quicker  than  any  other  crop.  I  have  raised  four  crops,  in  all 
about  six  thousand  bushels,  average  yield  eleven  bushels  per 
acre,  and  average  price  one  dollar  and  forty-five  cents  per 
bushel.  I  sow  eighteen  quarts  of  flax  and  two  quarts  of 
red  clover  seed.  The  clover  is  sure  to  grow,  producing  good 
Fall  feed,  and  the  roots  are  a  great  fertilizer,  helping  wonder- 
fully to  raise  a  crop  of  corn  the  next  season.  I  have  raised 
my  last  crop  of  flax;  it  exhausts  the  soil  and  makes  it  barren. 

CLYDESDALE    HORSES. 

I  have  found  it  profitable  to  do  the  most  of  my  team  work 
with  good  heavy  mares,  and  raise  a  half-blooded  Norman  colt. 
I  would  prefer  the  Clydesdale.     I  raised  three  colts  last  year  ; 
17 


258  IROQUOIS  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

the  mares  a  grade  Clydesdale,  and  sire  a  thorough-bred  four- 
mile  running  horse.  They  are  large,  active  colts  with  clean 
limbs.  They  suit  me  better  than  any  I  ever  raised  before. 
The  coming  Spring,  I  expect,  if  there  is  no  accident,  to  raise 
six  or  seven  more  from  the  same  horse.  I  think  it  is  the  right 
cross  for  a  horse  for  all  work,  but  the  mares  must  be  low  and 

ueavy. 

MULES. 

I  have  found,  after  raising  thirty  or  forty  mules,  that  if  a 
man  does  not  want  to  breed  from  his  work  teams,  the  mule  is 
the  team.  Mules  will  work  in  the  dust  and  heat,  where  it 
would  kill  a  horse  ;  they  are  not  nearly  as  liable  to  accident  or 
disease,  and  the  grain  one  horse  eats  will  keep  two  mules. 
But  the  mule  will  get  away  with  as  much  hay  as  a  horse,  and 
is  not  particular  if  it  is  musty  or  has  been  damaged  by  rain. 
My  mule  teams  do  more  work  than  my  horse  teams ;  they  are 
used  as  well,  thought  as  much  of,  and  will  not  eat  over  one- 
half  as  much  grain  as  the  horses. 

Some  have  a  mistaken  idea  that  a  mule  colt  is  harder  for 
the  mare  to  raise  than  a  colt.  I  always  let  my  colts  follow  the 
mares  on  the  farm.  The  horse  colt  is  with  the  mare  all  the 
time  ;  if  the  corn  rows  are  a  half-mile  long,  they  want  to  suck 
at  each  end,  and  when  weaned,  the  first  year  they  have  to  be 
kept  in  a  shelter  with  plenty  of  oats  to  keep  them  growing. 
The  mule  colt  will  stay  at  the  barn  one  or  two  hours  after  the 
mare  has  gone  into  the  field ;  then  he  will  take  a  walk  down 
to  the  field,  take  a  suck  and  lie  down,  or  pick  grass.  When 
he  is  weaned,  I  turn  him  out  with  big  colts  and  cattle,  and  let 
him  rough  it  till  he  is  three  years  old  ;  then  take  him  up  and 
break  him  with  the  same  kindness  I  would  a  horse,  and  he  will 
sell  for  more  money  than  a  five-year  old  colt.  I  always  was 
prejudiced  against  the  mule,  until  I  raised  a  nice  span,  and 
drove  them  awhile.  Now  I  will  not  drive  anything  else,  and 
if  any  of  you  ever  meet  "  Reub."  you  will  see  him  driving  the 
yellow  mules. 

DRAINAGE. 

We  drain  our  land  mostly  by  open  ditches,  using  the  plow 


ARTESIAN  WELLS  — CORN- CRIB.  259 

and  scraper  to  make  a  sloping  ravine,  which  may  be  cultivated 
and  plowed  across.  They  have  sufficient  fall  to  be  kept 
clean  by  the  Spring  rains.  The  cost  of  open  ditching  is  from 
twenty  to  fifty  cents  a  rod,  and  they  are  always  in  running 
order,  if  they  are  always  worked  across,  allowing  no  bank  to 
form  on  each  side  to  grow  up  to  weeds  and  prevent  the  water 
from  draining  into  the  ditch.  We  have  no  tile  drainage,  and 
but  a  very  little  land  for  which  an  open  ditch  is  not  preferable. 
I  think  we  have  as  good  a  farming  country  as  there  is  in  the 
West,  for  raising  the  above  named  crops,  and  also  for  raising 
stock.  My  aim  is  to  feed  the  greater  part  of  my  grain  to  cattle 
and  hogs ;  the  cost  of  raising  corn  is  about  eighteen  cents  per 
bushel,  oats  fifteen.  Good  farms,  with  good  improvements, 
are  worth  from  thirty  to  forty-five  dollars  per  acre. 

ARTESIAN  WELLS. 

As  we  have  no  running  streams,  you  may  think  it  is  a  pretty 
dry  place  for  a  stock  farm,  but  we  have  what  is  more  desirable. 
We  can  go  on  a  dry  piece  of  ground  and  bore  a  four-inch  hole 
from  ninety  to  one  hundred  feet  to  rock,  shove  down  a  three- 
inch  gas  pipe,  drill  ten  or  fifteen  feet,  and  strike  water  that 
rises  to  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet  of  the  surface,  put  in  a 
pump  and  a  wind-mill,  and  we  have  a  never  failing  supply  of 
water. 

COMBINED  HOG-HOUSE,   GRANARY  AND   CORN-CRIB. 

My  corn  crib  is  thirty-one  by  forty  feet.  Cribs  ten  feet 
wide,  twelve  feet  high  on  the  low  side,  and  nineteen  feet  posts 
next  to  drive  way.  The  drive-way  floor  is  elevated  two  feet 
above  the  crib  floors.  The  granary  is  above  the  driveway,  and 
the  hog  house  below  the  driveway  floor. 

My  pastures  are  fenced  with  osage  hedge,  or  three  board 
fence  with  two  barb  wires  on  top,  making  a  durable  fence,  and 
one  that  turns  every  kind  of  stock. 

I  always  sow  red  clover  with  every  kind  of  small  grain. 
I  have  clover  hay,  clover  pasture,  and  clover  to  plow  under  for 
enriching  the  land.  My  treatment  of  pasture  is  to  sow  red 


2GO 


IROCJUOIS  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 


END  VIEW  OP  FRAME  OF  CRIB,  GRANARY,  AND  HOG  HOUSE  COMBINED. 

32  feet  by  40  long,  14  and  22  feet  Posts. 


Granary    above   drive    way,    7^x12 
feet,  whole  length  of  crib.     Double  row 
of  2x6  joists,  one  spiked  on  each  side  of 
stud,  with  3  foot  2x4  brace  between. 


Drive  way,  12  feet  wide,   10  feet  in 
clear. 


Hog  house, 
5  feet  in  the 
length  of  the 

feet    in    clear 

side. 


12  feet  \vidc, 

clear,    whole 

| 

^     crib,     and    2 

n 
•a 

under      each 


2x6  tie. 


2x6  joist,  spiked  to  stud 


Cribs  2  feet  above  of  ground,  no  sills  :  outside  underpinning  set  in  one  foot. 


HOG  HOUSE,  GRANARY,  AND  CORN  CRIB. 


261 


One  section  of  frame,  with  no  sills  to  catch  water  and  rot  out.  Each  sec- 
tion is  set  on  seven  large  cedar  posts  (1),  two  feet  below  the  surface,  and  two 
feet  above.  Center  post  five  feet  above  surface. 

2 — 2x6  sleepers,  10  feet  long,  spiked  to  6  and  7. 

3 — 2x6  ties,  10  feet  long,  spiked  to  6  and  7. 

4 — 2x6  sleeper,  13  feet  long,  spiked  to  7  and  7. 

*5— 2x6  joist,  13  feet  long,  spiked  to  7  and  7. 

6—2x6  outside  studs,  14 "feet  long. 

7 — 2x6  inside  studs,  22  feet  long. 

8—1x6  tie,  nailed  firm  to  3  and  10,  8  feet  long. 

9 — 1x6  brace,  nailed  firm  to  7  and  10,  8  feet  long. 

10—2x4  rafter,  22  feet  long. 

11 — One  and  one-half  feet  projection. 

12 — Cribs  10  feet  wide,  9%  feet  between  sleeper  and  tie  (2  and  3).    Floor 
of  fencing,  J^  inch  crack.     Floor  between  studs  on  angle  of  one-half  pitch  /I 
to  prevent  corn  and  dirt  from  lodging. 

13 — Drive  way,  floor  elevated "3  feet  above  crib  floor;  10  feet  long  and  13 
feet  wide. 

14 — Granary,  12  feet  wide,  whole  length  of  crib;  7J^  feet  high  on  outside, 
12  feet  high  in  center;  grain  elevated  at  end,  or  center  of  crib. 

15  and  16 — Hog  house,  2  feet  high  under  cribs  and  5  feet  high  under  drive 
way,  saving  all  waste  corn  and  preventing  rats  from  working. 

17 — 2x4  brace,  3  feet  long,  spiked  to  7  and  5. 

*No.  5— Joist  donhlpd  spiking  on  each  side  of  7  and  7.  with  brace  (17)  between. 
Note:  Outside  underpinning  sut  under  the  crib  one  foot.    EacLt  section  of  frame  28-13 
feet  apart  from  center  to  center. 


262  JO  DAVIESS  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

clover  and  change  often.     I  use  plows,  cultivators,  and  reapers, 
manufactured  at  Rockford,  Illinois. 

I  breed  the  short-horned  Durham  and  Hereford  cattle, 
believing  them  to  be  the  best  breeds  for  beef.  There  has  been 
but  little  interest  taken  in  raising  cattle  for  milk.  This  is  com- 
paratively a  new  place,  but  we  have  some  fine  orchards  just 
beginning  to  bear,  and  think  it  is  a  successful  climate  for 
apples,  cherries,  and  the  small  fruits. 


E.  M.  BOUTON, 

GALENA,   JO  DAVIE6S   COUNT?. 

Stock  Farm  —  Best  Feed  for  Fattening  Cattle  —  Cost  of  Raising 
a  Three-Tear-Old  Steer —  Care  of  Breeding  Cows —  Treat- 
ment of  Meadows  —  Hay  Sweep  —  Variety  of  Food  Recom- 
mended for  Hogs. 

My  farm,  containing  two  hundred  and  seven  acres,  is 
situated  two  and  one-half  miles  east  of  Galena.  The  soil  is 
a  light,  porous  clay,  so  porous  that  it  needs  no  draining,  and 
is  well  adapted  to  the  growing  of  corn,  oats,  barley,  wheat,  rye, 
and  other  crops.  It  can  not  be  beat  for  pastures  and  meadows. 
Blue  grass  grows  perfectly  natural,  ousting  every  thing  of  the 
grass  kind  that  comes  in  its  way,  not  excepting  timothy  and 
clover.  It  makes  the  very  best  of  pasture  for  both  Summer 
and  Winter.  My  land  is  rather  rolling,  and  was  inclined  to 
wash  when  plowed  for  several  years  in  succession.  I  thus 
became  disgusted  twenty  years  ago  with  having  my  good  soil 
transported  by  every  passing  shower  into  the  Galena  river,  and 
resolved  to  make  it  exclusively  a  stock  farm,  to  raise  horses, 
cattle,  sheep  and  hogs.  I  set  out  with  the  determination  to 
put  my  stock  in  such  condition  that  when  they  were  taken  to 
the  Chicago  market,  they  would  attract  buyers.  In  order  to 
fatten  stock,  it  would  be  necessary  to  have  the  greater  part  of 
the  farm  in  meadow  and  pasture,  plowing  only  enough  to 
furnish  grain  for, the  stock.  By  so  doing,  it  would  enable  me 


FEEDING  CATTLE.  263 

to  change  often  from  grain  to  grass,  thus  avoiding  the  wash- 
ing away  of  the  land.  I  determined  to  feed  all  the  products 
of  the  farm  to  stock,  and  I  have  not  failed  to  do  so,  excepting 
hay,  a  few  tons  of  which,  having  been  left  over,  have  been 
hauled  to  market. 

I  have  made  fattening  cattle  a  specialty  for  twenty  years. 
I  will  give  a  little  of  my  experience  from  experiments  made. 

FEEDING    CATTLE. 

I  have  fed  cattle  in  the  yard  and  cattle  tied  up.  I  have 
fed  with  corn  in  the  ear,  corn  in  the  shock,  broadcast  over  the 
yards,  corn  mixed  with  oats  equal  parts,  and  snapped  corn 
with  the  husk  on,  also  corn  and  cob  crushed. 

Corn  in  the  ear,  unless  well  soaked,  is  certainly  very  poor 
feed  for  fattening  cattle  ;  shocked  corn  is  very  good  where  you 
feed  in  the  open  yard.  Corn  ground  with  one-fourth  oats  is  the 
very  best  of  feed.  On  the  last  named  I  have  made 'the  best  cattle 
I  have  handled.  The  cheapest  feed  that  can  be  gotten  up  is 
corn  snapped,  fed  with  the  husks  on.  It  is  quickly  snapped, 
hauled  and  put  in  cribs  near  the  feeding  barns,  where  it  can  be 
readily  carried  to  the  stock,  and  is  fed  without  waste.  The 
cattle  are  slow  about  grinding  it,  the  corn  is  held  in  the  mouth 
by  the  husks  until  corn,  cob  and  husk  is  thoroughly  masticated, 
before  being  swallowed.  I  say  cheap  method,  because  it  saves 
the  labor  of  husking  and  grinding,  and  is  readily  fed  to  cattle 
in  stalls  or  in  the  yard.  Corn  and  cob  crushed  is  last,  but  not 
least,  in  the  catalogue  of  feed  for  stock  of  any  kind.  I  would 
class  it  second  best  only  for  fattening  qualities.  The  flinty 
particles  in  cob  meal  are  thought  by  some  to  be  injurious  to 
the  digestive  organs.  Much  has  been  said  by  papers  in  that 
regard,  causing  many  besides  myself  to  give  it  up,  fearing  it 
would  injure  young  growing  stock.  If  these  statements  are 
facts,  they  have  yet  to  be  proven.  Chemists  seem  to  find  but 
very  little  nutriment  or  fattening  properties  in  it.  But  my 
experience  leads  me  to  believe  that  in  their  analysis  they  fail 
to  discover  something  which  has  produced  most  favorable  results 
in  my  use  of  the  article.  Cornmeal  is  unfit  for  food,  unless 


264  JO  DAVIESS  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

something,  cut  hay  or  straw,  is  mixed  with  it.  The  cob  ground 
with  the  corn  takes  its  place.  I  would  much  prefer  it  to  the 
straw.  I  feed  my  cattle  twice  a  day,  and  try  to  keep  them 
plump  and  full.  If  my  animals,  from  appearance,  seem  uncom- 
fortably full,  I  am  sure  they  are  doing  well.  During  the 
Winter  I  find  that  fifty  pounds  is  about  all  the  gain  I  can  make 
on  ordinary  grade  steers.  My  half  blood  Durhams  will  do 
better. 

GAIN  OF  CATTLE  ON  GRASS. 

In  June,  1879, 1  bought  two  loads  of  common  grade  steers, 
weighing  about  nine  hundred  pounds,  which  I  put  on  pasture, 
weighing  them  every  month  for  six  months,  resulting  as  follows: 
July,  gain  per  head,  forty-nine  and  one-half ;  August,  forty- 
nine  and  one-half;  September,  fed  a  little  corn,  gained  only 
twenty-five  pounds,  the  flies  being  very  bad,  driving  them  to 
the  woods  during  the  day,  and  when  they  came  out  it  was  to 
wait  for  their  corn  ;  October,  fed  on  grass  onty,  made  ninety- 
three  pounds;  November,  fed  on  grass,  corn  and  hay,  twenty 
pounds,  the  poorest  average  made.  The  grass  had  been  frost- 
bitten so  that  they  did  not  relish  it,  yet  it  kept  them  from  eat- 
ing hay.  They  would  have  done  better  closed  up  in  the  yard. 
The  gain  for  each,  per  month,  was  fifty  pounds.  That  experi- 
ment proved  to  my  satisfaction,  that  corn  fed  to  cattle  while 
on  good  pasture  is  worse  than  thrown  away. 

COST  OP  RAISING   A  STEER. 

I  estimate  the  cost  of  a  three  year  old  steer  as  follows : 
First  year,  to  keep  him  in  good  thriving  condition,  will  cost 
fifteen  dollars.  The  second  year,  I  give  him  eight  bushels  of  corn 
at  thirty  cents,  two  dollars  and  forty  cents ;  hay,  twenty-five 
hundred  pounds  at  eight  dollars  per  ton,  ten  dollars ;  pasture 
ten  dollars,  '  making  twenty-two  dollars  and  forty  cents. 
The  third  year,  I  give  him  fifteen  bushels  of  corn  at  thirty 
cents,  four  dollars  and  fifty  cents;  hay,  three  thousand  pounds 
at  eight  dollars  per  ton,  twelve  dollars;  pasture  ten  dollars, 
making  the  cost  twenty-six  dollars  and  fifty  cents  for  third 
year.  The  cost  for  feeding  the  three  years  is  sixty-three  dollars- 


BREEDING  COWS  — MEADOWS.  265 

and  ninety  cents.  At  that  age  he  should  weigh  sixteen  hundred 
pounds,  and  should  be  worth  five  cents  per  pound,  or  eighty 
dollars.  This  leaves  a  balance  of  sixteen  dollars  and  ten  cents 
only,  which  looks  small  comparatively  for  feeding  an  animal  for 
three  years ;  but  we  must  remember  that  the  manure  will  pay 
for  handling  him,  and  that  we  have  charged  him  the  highest 
price  paid  in  the  market  for  all  that  has  been  consumed.  We 
must  also  remember  that  the  time  of  man  and  team,  wear  and 
tear  of  wagon,  has  been  saved ;  in  fact,  the  whole  product  of 
the  farm,  after  having  gone  through  the  animal  machine,  has 
been  rendered  in  a  very  short  time  into  one  of  the  most  perfect 
fertilizers  yet  produced. 

MANAGEMENT   OF   BREEDING  COWS. 

In  order  to  obtain  sixteen  hundred  pounds  in  a  three  year 
old  steer,  we  have  only  to  cross  with  the  pure  blood  Durham 
bull,  and  feed  him  as  an  animal  should  be  fed  from  his  birth. 
Every  thing  depends  upon  the  cave  given  the  first  year.  If  the 
calf  increases  one  pound  a  day  by  his  extra  feed,  he  may  be 
expected  to  gain  another  pound  by  his  ordinary  growth,  so  that 
there  is  evidently  a  double  gain.  In  order  to  raise  good  calves 
we  must  feed  our  cows.  I  think  we  damage  our  interests 
greatly  when  we  suffer  our  milch  cows  to  come  out  in  the 
Spring  in  low  condition.  We  are  apt  to  think  at  the  time  per- 
haps, when  they  are  dry  it  is  enough  to  give  them  our  coarsest 
fodder,  when  we  should  give  them  the  kindest  treatment,  and 
most  nourishing  food,  that  their  calves  may  come  strong  and 
healthy.  I  believe  that  the  quality  and  quantity  of  milk  given 
during  the  Summer,  will  be  very  much  increased  by  extra  care 
during  the  Winter. 

MEADOWS. 

Good  meadows  are  very  rare,  from  the  fact  that  farmers, 
as  a  rule,  plow  from  year  to  j'ear,  growing  corn,  wheat,  oats, 
etc  ,  so  long  as  the  soil  is  capable  of  producing  these  crops. 
When  it  is  completely  exhausted,  they  resolve  to  seed  down  to 
grass.  Timothy  is  sown,  and  a  miserable  crop  follows,  not 
worth  mowing.  But  I  am  happy  to  say  that  a  new  era  is  at 


266  JO  DAVIESS  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

hand.  Farmers  are  beginning  to  find  out,  of  late,  that  red  clo- 
ver will  grow  on  these  worn  out  fields,  and  that  by  plowing  it 
under,  the  soil  can  be  renewed.  To  make  a  good  meadow,  I 
sow  one  peck  of  timothy  seed  per  acre,  on  good  strong  ground, 
with  Fall  wheat,  or  on  Spring  grain.  I  make  the  field  smooth 
with  harrow  and  roller.  After  the  grain  is  taken  off,  manure 
is  hauled  on.  The  latter  part  of  August  I  commence  hauling 
it,  spreading  it  on  liberally  from  the  wagon.  When  the  haul- 
ing is  completed,  I  wait  for  rain  to  soften  the  manure.  I  then 
take  the  smoothing  harrow  and  run  over  the  ground  until  the 
rough  has  been  made  smooth.  When  this  is  thoroughly  done, 
the  coarse  manure  will  never  interfere  with  mower  or  horse- 
rake.  My  new  meadows  get  all  the  manure  made  on  the  farm, 
which  usually  is  very  coarse,  made  from  corn  and  fodder  fed 
broadcast  over  the  yards,  together  with  tops  of  stacks,  straw 
and  stable  manure.  In  order  to  realize  a  good  crop  for  eight  or 
ten  years,  without  more  manure,  I  have  only  to  avoid  pastur- 
ing, a  practice  that  is  ruinous  to  a  meadow.  The  aftergrass,  if 
left  to  cover  the  ground,  protects  the  roots,  keeps  the  snow 
from  blowing  off,  and  holds  the  moisture  during  the  first  part 
of  the  season,  causing  the  young  grass  to  make  such  rapid 
growth  as  to  cover  the  ground  so  effectually  that  the  dry 
weather  in  June  can  have  but  little  effect  upon  it.  I  cut  on 
an  average  about  one  hundred  tons  of  hay  yearly. 

HAYING. 

I  commence  the  first  of  July,  start  in  with  two  mowers,  cut 
five  or  six  acres,  enough  to  make  a  rick  of  eight  to  ten  tons.  This 
I  do  every  morning  (weather  permitting).  In  the  afternoon  I 
stack  that  which  was  cut  the  day  previous,  making  a  stack 
bottom  of  rails  or  poles,  in  the  center  of  the  field,  over  which 
I  erect  my  derrick  for  hoisting  hay  with  horse  fork.  Then, 
with  sulky,  rake  into  winrows,  after  which  two  horses  are 
attached  to  the  sweep,  which  will  scoop  up  and  haul  to  the 
stack  with  ease  eight  to  ten  tons  in  one  afternoon.  One  good 
man  on  the  stack,  one  to  handle  the  horse  fork,  and  three  boys 
to  handle  the  horses,  make  up  the  force  necessary  to  accom- 


HAY  SWEEP— HOGS.  267 

plish  the  work.     I   have  used  the  implement  called  the  hay 
sweep  for  twenty  years.     It  is  made  as  follows  : 

HAY   SWEEP. 

Main  scantling  ten  feet  long,  four  by  five  inches  ;  one  above 
same  length,  three  by  four  inches  ;  these  two  should  be  three 
feet  apart,  connected  by  seven  upright  bars  three  feet  long,  one 
by  two  inches.  The  teeth  are  flat,  five  feet  long,  projecting 
two  and  one-half  feet  each  way,  and  tapering  to  the  ends,  so  as 
to  easily  run  under  the  winrow.  To  each  end  of  the  rake 
should  be  attached  a  gate,  swinging  half  way  around,  on  very 
stout  hinges.  These  gates  consist  of  two  pieces  of  scantling,  three 
inches  square  and  three  feet  long,  united  by  two  wooden  bars, 
one  by  two  inches,  and  a  third  at  bottom,  three  inches  square, 
tapering  upwards  like  a  sled-runner,  these  runners  projecting 
a  few  inches  beyond  the  gate.  The  whiffletrees  are  fastened  a 
little  above  the  middle  of  the  gates,  where  the  horses  are 
attached. 

Thus  the  horses  pass  along,  one  on  each  side  of  the  win- 
row,  drawing  this  rake,  which  scoops  up  the  hay  as  they  go. 
When  full,  they  draw  it  to  the  barn  or  stack,  and  the  horses 
turning  about  at  each  end,  cause  the  gates  to  make  a  half-cir- 
cle, draw  the  teeth  away  from  the  hay,  and  go  for  another 
load,  the  teeth  on  opposite  sides  being  thus  used  alternately. 
I  consider  it  a  great  labor-saving  machine,  which  should  be  used 
by  all  who  stack  in  the  field.  With  two  boys  and  two  horses, 
more  hay  can  be  hauled  to  the  stack  in  half  a  day  than  by  two 
wagons  with  a  good  man  to  work  them. 

HOGS. 

The  Poland  Chinas  have  been  favorites,  for  several  years, 
with  the  majority  of  farmers  in  these  parts,  and  are  decidedly 
a  first-class  breed.  But  of  late  the  cholera  has  made  such 
havoc  with  them,  that  we  are  beginning  to  think  there  has 
been  too  much  in-breeding,  so  we  are  crossing  with  the  Berk- 
shire. Whether  we  are  getting  a  more  healthy  hog  by  so 
doing,  is  a  question.  I  believe  that  eight  times  out  of  ten  the 
owner  is  to  blame,  permitting  his  hogs  to  become  diseased  from 


•268  JO  DAVIESS  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

negligence,  or  want  of  experience  in  their  management,  not 
knowing  how  to  supply  their  wants.  No  other  animal  has  so 
many  wants,  or  craves  such  a  variety  of  food.  Hogs  go  for 
vegetable  and  animal  food  alike ;  they  will  live  on  grass  or 
clover  hay,  and  1  am  satisfied  that  a  variety  of  feed  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  for  their  health  and  well-being.  Corn  is  the 
cheapest  feed,  and  should  be  made  the  largest  part  of  it.  We 
are  apt  to  think  if  they  have  it  by  them  constantly,  with  plenty 
of  water,  and  a  little  salt,  we  have  done  all  that  is  necessary  to 
make  them  fatten  rapidly.  But  you  give  those  hogs  a  bucket 
of  ashes,  and  see  how  quickly  they  will  get  outside  of  it ;  then  a 
bucket  of  dry  bran,  and  see  with  what  relish  they  will  gobble 
it  up.  The  next  day  give  them  a  bucket  of  oats  ;  the  next  a 
few  potatoes  ;  thus  changing  from  day  to  day,  and  my  word  for 
it,  }'ou  will  see  no  slab-sided,  drawn-up  porkers,  trying  to  hide 
themselves  under  a  bunch  of  straw,  waiting  for  the  last  call. 
With  a  variety  of  food,  changed  every  day,  with  clean  beds 
made  up  with  plent}'  of  straw,  and  not  too  many  in  a  pen,  you 
need  have  no  fear  of  cholera,  nor  will  you  have  any  occasion  to 
buy  bogus  medicine.  I  speak  from  experience.  This  year  I 
have  sold  one  hundred  and  fourteen  hogs  (fat),  and  have  thirty- 
five  more  ready  to  sell,  and  twenty-three  young  sows  that  will 
weigh  over  two  hundred  pounds,  which  I  have  bred  for  my  next 
year's  supply. 

I  keep  no  old  sows,  breed  altogether  from  young  ones, 
commencing  to  breed  them  about  the  tenth  of  December,  that 
they  may  come  in  the  latter  part  of  March  and  first  of  April. 
When  the  pigs  are  old  enough  to  wean,  I  give  them  a  clover 
pasture,  in  which  they  get  plenty  of  exercise.  They  want  dry, 
comfortable  beds,  but  it  is  best  to  keep  them  out  during  the  day, 
if  the  weather  is  fine.  I  feed  corn  and  oats  ground,  equal 
parts,  with  a  little  bran,  which  is  put  in  barrels  and  soaked  for 
twelve  hours.  I  feed  twice  a  day  only.  The  sows  are  fat 
when  the  pigs  are  weaned,  and  are  turned  out  to  pasture  with 
other  stock  hogs.  They  get  no  corn  until  the  crop  ripens  in 
the  Fall,  when  they  are  pushed  until  ready  for  market.  Thus/ 
handled  they  make  cheap  pork. 


THREE  RULES.  269 

A.  J.  STREETER, 

NEW  WINDSOR,  MERCER  COUNTY. 

Stock  Farm  of  Twenty- Five  Hundred  Acres  —  My  Three  Rules 
—  Valuable  Herd  of  Short  Horns  —  Best  Stock  the  Cheap- 
est —  When  to  Sell. 

CROW    FARM 

is  situated  two  and  one-half  miles  northwest  of  New  Windsor, 
in  Mercer  county.  Commenced  my  farm  in  the  Fall  of  1855 
by  the  purchase  of  two  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  prairie,  in 
the  midst  of  a  then  open  range.  It  was  selected  with  a  view 
to  building  up  a  stock  farm.  While  the  range  was  good,  I 
bought  cattle  and  herded  them  on  the  prairie,  and  usually  sold 
in  the  Fall  to  feeders. 

When  it  became  evident  that  in  a  few  years  the  range 
would  run  short,  because  the  settlers  wanted  to  buy  and 
inclose  the  outside  lands,  then  it  was  that  the  owner  of  Crow 
Farm  used  every  effort,  and  all  of  his  available  means  to  buy, 
and  add  the  surrounding  land  to  the  farm.  This  proved  to  be 
a  good  investment. 

I  often  borrowed  money,  and  never  failed  to  meet  my 
payments.  I  adopted 

THREE    RULES. 

First.  Not  to  go  in  debt  beyond  the  value  of  my  personal 
property,  and  to  keep  that  property  in  cattle  and  hogs  that 
were  being  prepared  for  the  market. 

Second,     Sell  only  for  cash. 

Third.  Avoid  dealing  with  unlucky  men.  The  last  rule 
may  seem  simple,  but  its  observance  has  saved  me  plenty  of 
money  and  trouble.  Men  who  make  no  money  for  themselves, 
and  are  often  in  trouble,  will  make  only  trouble  for  those  with 
whom  they  deal. 

Crow  Farm,  which  derives  its  name  from  a  crow  roost 


270  MERCER  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

upon  it,  now  comprises  twenty-five  hundred  acres,  and  at  one 
time  it  contained  fifteen  hundred  acres  more.  It  is  used 
almost  entirely  for  raising  and  feeding  stock.  About  one-half 
of  the  farm  is  in  pasture  and  meadow,  and  the  other  half  is 
used  mostly  for  raising  corn.  Renters,  living  in  houses  on  the 
place,  raise  most  of  the  corn,  and  deliver  the  rent,  two-fifths, 
in  cribs  near  the  feed  yards.  Most  of  the  renters'  share  of  the 
corn  is  bought  each  year  by  the  bushel. 

BUILDINGS  AND    FEED    YARDS. 

The  dwelling  house,  barns,  and  other  buildings  are  located 
near  the  center  of  the  farm,  and  where  the  land  is  broken.  By 
this  means  plenty  of  water,  shelter,  and  quick  drainage  from 
yards  and  feed  lots  are  obtained.  The  yards  and  feed  lots  are 
on  all  sides  of  the  barns,  and  the  feed  lots  open  into  five  pas- 
tures that  extend  in  all  directions. 

FEEDING. 

The  corn  is  fed  in  boxes,  and  what  falls  upon  the  ground, 
or  is  dropped  by  the  cattle,  is  saved  by  the  hogs.  The  hay  is 
fed  in  racks,  with  boxes  below  to  catch  the  litter.  There  are 
always  from  three  hundred  to  six  hundred  cattle  on  the  farm 
feeding,  and  about  as  many  hogs.  In  the  Winter  of  1879-80 
I  fed  five  hundred  cattle,  and  among  them  are  a  herd  of 
ninety  Short-Horns,  that  for  purity  of  breeding  and  individual 
excellence  are  not  surpassed  in  the  Northwest. 

The  young  males  are  sold  off  every  year  at  from  one  to 
two  hundred  dollars  each.  It  is  bad  financial  management  to 
sell  well-bred  cows  and  heifers  at  from  one  to  two  hundred  a 
head,  when  every  calf  they  raise  will  sell  for  that  amount. 

THOROUGH-BRED    SHORT-HORNS. 

My  herd  contains  some  of  the  members  of  the  most  highly- 
prized  families  to  be  found  in  America,  and  among  them  are 
eight  Rose  of  Sharons  through  Thames,  which  are  strictly  of  the 
A.  Renick  breeding.  One  of  these,  Rose  of  Sharon  of  Durham 
Lawn,  cost  the  proprietor  of  Crow  Farm  the  large  sum  of 
$4,200.  There  are  several  of  this  highly-prized  family,  and 


GOOD  STOCK  PAY—  CALVES.  271 

among  them  the  famous  imported  Waterloo  J.,  illustrated  in 
the  fourteenth  volume  American  Herd-  Book.  It  was  said  of 
her  when  young  that  she  was  the  grandest  cow  in  America. 
The  Roan  Duchess,  Duchess  of  Goodness,  Harriet,  and 
Young  Mary  families  are  also  well  represented.  About  fifty 
high-graded  cows  and  heifers  are  kept  on  the  farm  to  raise 
calves.  A  car  load  of  these  calves,  six  to  eisrht  months  old, 

O  * 

sold  in  the  Fall  of  1879  for  twenty-eight  dollars  a  head,  to  go 
to  Utah  Territory. 

GOOD   STOCK   PAY   EVERY   TIME. 

By  having  good  stock,  and  giving  them  good  care,  the 
cattle  fed  each  year  through  the  hard  times  have  sold  for  over 
five  cents  per  pound.  This  stock  made  me  some  money,  but 
bad  stock  would  have  proved  a  loss. 

There  is  a  high-grade  steer  on  the  farm  now,  twenty-one 
months  old,  that  weighs  over  sixteen  hundred  pounds.  He 
has  made  more  money  than  six  scrubs  would  probably  have 
made  in  the  same  time  ;  blood  will  tell.  The  same  difference 
holds  good  in  other  kinds  of  stock. 

The  man  who  sows  and  plants  poor  seed,  and  breeds  from 
poor  stock,  will  remain  a  poor  man.  As  the  best  seed  to  plant 
or  sow  is  the  cheapest,  so  is  the  best  stock  to  breed  from  the 
cheapest. 

From  year  to  year  the  best  cattle  to  be  found  in  the  sur- 
rounding country,  and  of  any  age,  are  bought  for  my  farm  ; 
such  have  always  made  me  money,  while  bad  and  scrubby 
animals  have  proved  to  be  too  dear,  no  matter  what  the  price. 

COWS   AND    CALVES. 

The  cows  and  heifers  come  in  at  all  seasons  of  the  year  ; 
and  the  graded  cows  mostly  raise  two  calves  at  a  time,  and 
sometimes  two  pairs  in  a  year.  I  also  buy  other  calves  from 
time  to  time.  Before  the  calves  are  old  enough  to  wean,  they 
are  separated  from  the  cows  in  the  daytime  and  fed  grain,  and 
turned  to  the  cows  again  at  night.  By  this  means  they  become 
well  used  to  eating  grain  before  weaning  time  comes.  They 
are  weaned  at  from  four  to  six  months  old,  and  their  grain 


272  MERCER  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. . 

feed  (about  half  what  they  can  eat,)  continued  with  pasture  or 
hay  until  grass  comes  in  the  Spring,  when  they  go  to  pasture 
for  the  Summer. 

PASTURES    AND    FENCES. 

The  pastures  are  not  overstocked,  and  the  feed,  being 
mostly  blue  grass,  is  kept  in  abundant  supply.  Good  fences  are 
a  specialty  on  Crow  Farm,  and  are  made  five  boards  high,  with 
cedar  posts  set  five  feet  apart,  or  of  hedge. 

SIX   RULES  FOB   MARKETING. 

The  future  market  price  of  farm  products  is  beyond  human 
calculation,  and  the  market  often  disappoints  the  greatest  num- 
bers. Still,  the  Avriter  has  met  with  considerable  success  by 
observing  the  following  rules  : 

O  O 

When  stock  is  fully  ripe  and  ready  for  the  market,  and 
the  market  fair,  it  is  better  to  sell  than  to  hold  for  a  rise. 

When  the  market  is  high,  and  the  stock  is  not  ready,  sell 
for  future  delivery  to  a  responsible  buyer  ;  three  times  out  of 
four  it  will  beat  the  buyer. 

When  the  market  is  low,  make  no  contracts,  and  be  slow 
to  sell,  because  a  rise  in  price  often  comes  when  least  expected; 
in  fact,  high  prices  most  always  come  unexpectedly. 

When  people  in  general  say  cattle,  or  hogs,  or  corn,  or 
wheat,  will  be  high  next  Winter  or  next  year,  they  are  almost 
sure  to  be  disappointed,  because  they  go  to  work  with  one 
accord  to  make  it  cheaper  by  increasing  the  production. 

When  the  price  of  any  farm  product  has  run  high  for  some 
time,  and  the  farmers  begin  to  drop  other  things  and  go  for 
the  product  that  has  the  money  in  it  now,  then  is  the  time  for 
the  successful  farmer  to  let  that  product  alone. 

When  a  leading  article,  say  hogs,  runs  low  for  a  long  time, 
and  farmers  begin  to  stop  raising  them  because  it  won't  pay, 
then  is  the  time  to  raise  pigs. 

The  writer  remembers  one  year  when  corn  was  scarce  and 
high,  and  hogs  were  low,  and  the  farmers  wanted  to  sell  their 
shoats  at  any  price  they  could  get.  He  bought  up  a  lot  of  them 
for  about  one  dollar  a  head  ;  fed  them  a  little  corn,  and  Sum- 


A  CONVENIENT  BARN.  273 

mered  them  mostly  on  pasture,  and  in  nine  months  from  the 
time  they  were  bought,  sold  them  for  twenty  dollars  a  head  — 
nineteen  hundred  per  cent,  in  nine  months. 

The  writer,  now  fifty-seven  years  of  age,  makes  no  pre- 
tensions of  being  a  model  farmer,  though  some  have  said  that 
he  is  one  of  the  successful  farmers  of  Illinois.  Be  that  as  it 
may,  he  began  at  the  beginning,  and  whatever  of  success 
may  have  attended  his  efforts,  is  due  more  to  a  steady  and 
determined  effort  to  win,  than  to  any  other  one  cause. 

Reared  amid  the  pine-clad  mountains  of  western  New 
York,  where  they  often  stone  up  the  lower  side  of  potato 
hills  to  get  dirt  enough  for  the  potatoes,  and  bring  the  Winter's 
wood  down  the  mountain  side  on  a  hand-sled,  (and  no  school 
house  within  miles'),  he  knows  what  poverty  is,  and  has  a 
fellow  feeling  for  all  who  live  by  labor. 


A.  P.  CHARLES, 

KNOXVILLE,     KNOX      COUNTY. 

A  Convenient  Barn. 

• 

My  barn,  which  I  think  is  a  very  good  one,  is  made  as 

follows:  Outside  posts  sixteen  feet;  forty-eight  feet  from 
ground  to  comb  of  roof.  Forty-eight  feet  by  ninety-six  in 
size,  on  stone  piers  three  feet  at  base  sloping  to  the  top  on 
both  sides  to  eighteen  inches,  with  basement  eight  feet  in  front 
and  seven  and  one-half  feet  in  the  rear.  The  front  center  pier 
is  eight  feet  in  width,  the  others,  four  in  number,  are  six  feet 
wide.  Doors  in  front  are  swung  up  and  fastened  to  joists^ 
which  are  easily  dropped  in  bad  weather.  The  east  half  of  the 
barn  is  stalled  for  feeding  cattle.  The  width  of  the  stalls  is  two 
feet  ten  inches  with  feed  trough  and  hay  rack.  The  hay  is 
throw  into  the  rack  from  above.  The  corn  crib  is  below  so 
arranged  with  derrick  as  to  save  a  great  deal  of  labor  in  unload- 
ing. I  have  stalls  for  thirty  head  of  cattle.  Each  stall  has  a 


274  KNOX  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

door  which  is  hung  and  fastened  to  two  by  four  oak  posts  with 
hook  and  staple,  into  which  I  turn  my  cattle  loose.  By  the 
use  of  a  rope  and  pulleys  the  "doors  are  raised  up  to  joists  and 
made  fast  and  can  be  laid  down  in  the  same  way;  they  have  a 
spring  lock  which  fastens  itself.  My  yards  and  buildings  are 
paved  with  stone  six  inches  in  thickness,  with  a  ten  inch  stone 
floor  under  the  cattle  giving  a  fall  of  four  inches. 

The  west  side  of  the  basement  is  used  for  stock  cattle, 
has  two  large  hay  racks  thirty-two  feet  in  length  running 
across  the  building.  The  hay  is  thrown  into  the  racks  from 
the  floor  above  and  the  cattle  here  run  loose.  There  are  eight 
windows  in  the  basement  and  four  large  doors  in  the  rear  of 
the  building  to  drive  in  on  the  floor.  There  are  six  small 
rolling  doors  in  front  over  basement  or  first  floor,  and  one  in 
the  southeast  corner  of  the  end,  with  a  window  over  each 
door.  There  are  six  shutters  or  blinds  in  each  gable.  The 
barn  has  a  hip  roof  with  six  dormer  windows  in  the  roof ; 
three  on  either  side.  It  has  a  large  cupola,  built  eight  cornered, 
with  a  square  base,  and  wind-mill  on  the  top  of  the  same,  run- 
ning a  feed  mill  on  the  first  floor,  with  a  shaft  out  to  the  well, 
twenty -four  feet  from  the  barn.  I  collect  all  the  rain-water  and 
run  it  into  the  well. 


PLAN  OF  STOCK  BARN. 


27o 


I  I 


i  I  I 


FORTY-EIGHT  FEET. 


CORN  CRIB.  C 

6x18. 


CORN  CRIB. 

6x16. 


W.  T.,  20x4  ft. 


These  Racks  are  V  Shaped, 


With  Corn  Box  on  Side. 
2K  feet  from  ground. 


I  I  I 


W 


276  JACKSON   COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

P.  E.  MICHAELS, 

POPLAR  EIDGE,  JACKSON  COUNTY.  » 

Common    Sense  Applied  to  Farming  —  Wheat  —  Corn  —  Care 
of  Horses  and  Cattle  —  Grood  Living. 

WHEAT. 

In  raising  wheat  I  break  my  ground  twice;  the  first  time 
as  soon  as  possible  after  the  wheat  has  been  taken  off,  the 
second  time  just  before  I  wish  to  sow  my  wheat,  harrowing 
once  or  twice  after  each  plowing.  I  think  the  best  time  at 
which  to  sow  wheat  in  this  part  of  the  State  is  the  last  week 
of  September  or  the  first  two  weeks  of  October.  By  sowing 
earlier  we  are  too  apt  to  have  the  wheat  injured  by  the  Hessian 
fly,  grasshopper,  etc.  I  thresh  out  of  the  shock,  but  where  the 
crops  are  small  it  does  not  pay  to  do  this  and  let  the  rest  of 
the  neighbors  stack. 

CORN. 

I  find,  by  experimenting,  that  I  can  raise  more  corn,  and 
of  a  better  quality,  by  thinning  it  to  two  stalks  in  the  hill.  It  is 
best  in  this  part  of  the  State  to  plant  so  as  to  plow  the  corn 
both  ways. 

I  also  find  that  I  can  raise  more  early  potatoes,  of  a  better 
quality  and  with  less  work,  by  planting  and  covering  with 
straw ;  putting  the  straw  about  ten  inches  thick.  Late  pota- 
toes do  better,  in  this  locality,  when  planted  the  last  of  June 
or  the  first  of  July.  The  peach  blow  is  the  best  late  potato 
I  can  find. 

STOCK. 

With  reference  to  stock  I  aim  to  keep  horses  in  a  good 
condition,  and  free  from  colic,  bots,  etc.  To  do  this  I  place 
salt  and  ashes  in  their  feed-boxes  every  week,  and  feed  and 
water  them  regularly.  I  am  careful  to  have  good  water.  A 
horse  is  very  much  like  a  person.  You  can  starve  him  to  drink 
any  kind  of  water,  but  I  treat  my  horse  as  I  would  wish  to  be 


TREATMENT  OF  STOCK.  277 

treated  if  I  were  a  horse.  A  man  is  well  rewarded  for  taking 
good  care  of  a  horse.  There  is  no  more  need  of  having  a  sick 
horse  than  there  is  of  being  sick  one's  self.  Unless  we  violate 
some  of  the  laws  of  nature  we  will  scarcely  ever  be  sick.  And 
unless  a  horse  is  forced  by  mistreatment  or  neglect  to  violate 
some  law  of  nature  he  will  seldom  be  sick. 

The  same  rule  holds  good  with  cattle.  With  good  shelter 
and  half  feed,  cattle  will  come  out  of  Winter  quarters  in  bet- 
ter condition  than  with  full  feed  and  no  shelter.  It  pays  to  boil 
the  food  for  cattle.  Regularity  in  the  care  of  cows  pays  well. 
My  experience  and  observation  have  taught  me  that  when  a 
'cow  is  milked  at  four  o'clock  one  day  and  six  the  next,  or  one 
person  milks  her  one  day  and  another  the  next,  she  will  not 
give  so  much  milk,  nor  will  she  yield  milk  as  long  as  if  one 
person  milks  and  attends  to  the  milking  at  regular  periods. 

I  know  pedigree  has  a  great  deal  to  do  in  cattle,  and  it 
is  a  pity  that  more  of  our  farmers  in  this  section  will  not  come 
to  that  conclusion,  and  put  it  into  practice,  trying  to  improve 
their  breeds.  I  never  was  in  a  section  of  country  where  the 
farmers,  as  a  rule,  took  so  little  care  of  cattle  as  they  do  in  this. 
It  is  no  wonder  that  the  cattle  here  are  called  "  scrubs,"  for 
most  of  them  are  treated  badly  enough  to  make  scrubs  out  of 
any  thing. 

In  the  matter  of  hogs  I  can  not  say  that  I  think  pedigree 
has  so  much  to  do  in  making  a  fine  animal.  I  will  except  the  old- 
fashioned  long-nosed  hazel-splitters.  My  experience  is  that  if 
you  have  a  good  big  corn  crib  and  it  is  well  filled,  it  is  not 
much  trouble  to  have  nice  hogs.  My  remedy  for  hog  cholera 
is  to  turn  the  hog  upon  his  back  and  give  him  about  one-third 
or  one-half  tea  cup  full  of  coal  oil.  It  is  not  an  infallible  cure 
perhaps,  but  I  never  saw  it  fail ! 

The  most  important  step  toward  making  a  successful  farmer, 
is  to  take  care  of  what  is  made.  It  matters  not  how  much  a 
farmer  may  make  if  he  does  not  save  it. 

CARE   OF   TOOLS. 

Taking  care  of  tools  is  another   essential   towards   good 


278  WILL  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

farming.  How  often  do  we  see  farm  machinery  standing  out 
all  the  year,  and  we  hear  the  owners  of  such  property  always 
crying  "  Hard  times."  A  piece  of  farm  machinery  that  will 
last  five  years  if  left  out  doors  all  the  time,  would  invariably, 
if  housed  up,  last  twice  as  long. 

LIVE   WELL. 

There  is  no  reason  why  a  farmer  should  not  live  well.  If 
he  will  manage  rightly  he  can  raise  nearly  every  thing  he  needs 
at  little  cost.  I  do  not  believe  in  the  motto  "  Live  on  what 
you  can  not  sell,"  in  order  to  die  rich.  I  think  no  one  has  a 
better  right  to  the  best  that  the  ground  will  yield  than  the 
one  who  plants  the  seed.  Nothing  conduces  to  good  health 
so  much  as  a  variety  of  good  wholesome  diet.  And  a  farmer 
should  keep  his  family  as  healthy  as  possible. 

I  have  not  adhered  to  my  text  very  closely ;  but  to  sum 
the  whole  matter  up,  my  method  of  farming  is  to  cultivate  the 
ground  all  I  can  before  planting  the  crop,  and  to  cultivate  it 
all  I  can  after  planting.  I  take  as  good  care  of  my  horses, 
cattle  and  hogs  as  I  know  how  to.  I  study  the  laws  of  nature 
so  as  to  diet  myself  in  order  that  I  may  not  have  to  lose  time 
by  being  sick,  or  lose  money  by  having  to  pay  a  doctor's  bill. 
I  leave  to  others  to  say  whether  I  am  a  successful  farmer  or  not. 


T.  L.   MILLER, 

BEECHER,    WILL   COUNTY. 

Hereford  Cattle,   Cotswold  Sheep,  and  Berkshire  Hogs. 

HIGHLAND   STOCK  FARM. 

My  farm  of  about  eight  hundred  acres,  lies  in  Will 
county,  and  is  a  stock  farm,  used  and  carried  on  for  the 
breeding  of  fine  stock,  to  wit :  Hereford  cattle,  Cotswold 
sheep,  and  Berkshire  hogs.  Each  class  is  thorough-bred,  and 
is  kept  for  breeding  purposes. 

My  horses  have  been  bred  on  the  farm  from  ordinary 
mares,  and  from  Morgan  stallions. 


STOCK  BARN.  279 

A  portion  of  the  grain  that  I  feed  is  raised  on  the  farm ; 
the  balance  I  buy  of  neighboring  farmers.  It  has  been  my 
practice  during  times  of  low  prices  to  purchase,  but  it  is  now 
my  design,  in  anticipation  of  higher  prices,  to  raise  all  the 
grain  that  is  needed. 

I  cut  from  four  hundred  to  six  hundred  tons  of  hay  annu- 
ally. My  buildings  consist  of  eight  dwellings.  Six  are  used 
by  the  persons  employed  on  the  farm,  and  two  are  used  by 
myself.  They  are  all  moderate  sized.  The  barns  and  stables 
will  cover  and  accommodate  three  hundred  head  of  cattle,  two 
hundred  sheep,  and  one  hundred  hogs. 

The  main  building,  or  barn,  is  one  hundred  by  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-two  feet,  with  an  ell  twenty-four  by  eighty- 
six  feet,  twenty  feet  studding,  and  I  have  two  others,  each 
twenty-four  feet  square,  and  a  shed  sixteen  by  one  hundred 
and  sixty  feet. 

The  lower  part  of  this  building  is  used  for  stabling  cattle, 
and  will  accommodate  over  two  hundred.  The  main  floor  will 
hold  five  hundred  tons  of  hay.  The  center  of  this  floor  is 
used  as  a  granary,  and  holds  from  six  thousand  to  eight  thou- 
sand bushels. 

The  upper  floor  of  this  central  part,  which  is  thirty-two 
feet  square,  is  kept  as  a  mill  room.  I  use  two  Challenge  mills. 
Running  from  the  ground  up  through  this  central  room,  is  the 
tower,  on  which  rests  a  double-headed  windmill,  thirty  feet  in 
diameter,  and  of  eighteen  horse  power.  With  a  fair  average 
wind,  this  mill  furnishes  the  power  for  pumping  the  water, 
pulping  roots,  cutting  hay,  shelling  corn,  and  grinding  the 
feed. 

The  water  is  distributed  through  the  stables  and  yards  by 
means  of  iron  pipes,  and  the  entire  stock  can  be  watered  with- 
out moving  them.  The  cost  of  the  barn,  which  I  built  in 
1873,  was  §10,000.  The  other  buildings  were  built  at  a  cost 
of  about  $8,000. 

I  have  on  my  farm  over  twenty  miles  of  fence.  Two  or 
three  miles  of  this  is  barbed  wire,  the  balance  is  of  posts  and 
boards. 


280  WILL  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

There  has  been  but  little  drainage  done,  but  it  is  intended 
to  commence  this  improvement  as  soon  as  possible. 

HEEEFORDS. 

The  Hereford  cattle,  for  which  the  farm  is  particularly 
noted,  were  first  put  on  the  farm  in  February,  1872.  They 
are  pre-eminently  the  beef  cattle  of  the  world.  They  have 
hardy  constitutions,  mature  earl}',  and  produce  the  finest 
quality  of  meat  of  any  of  the  beef  breeds,  at  the  earliest  ages. 
These  results  are  obtained  at  less  cost  than  they  can  be  on 
any  other  breed. 

Eight  years  ago  they  were  scarcely  known  at  the  West, 
but  are  yearly  commanding  more  attention  than  any  others. 

The  cows  are  fair  milkers  when  used  for  the  dairy,  and 
always  prove  good  butter  makers.  My  young  stock  is  always, 
with  reasonably  good  care,  fit  for  the  butchers. 

COTSWOLD   SHEEP. 

These  sheep  have  their  origin,  as  did  the  Hereford  cattle, 
in  England,  and  are  classed  among  the  leading  breeds  of  mut- 
ton sheep  in  that  kingdom.  In  their  native  country  they  are 
kept  on  the  pastures  and  root  fields,  during  the  entire  year. 
This  is  nearly  absolutely  true  of  the  store  sheep.  They  ma- 
ture at  early  ages,  on  generous  feed,  and  attain  a  weight  of 
two  hundred  pounds  when  eighteen  or  twenty  months  old. 
At  this  weight  they  will  rank  as  first-class  mutton.  It  may 
also  be  claimed  for  them  that  they  will  attain  these  weights 
and  quality  at  less  cost  than  most  other  breeds. 

BERKSHIRE   HOGS. 

The  Berkshire  hog  has  been  bred  on  my  farm  for  many 
years  in  its  purity.  These  hogs  are  noted  for  early  maturity 
and  fine  quality  of  flesh,  and  will  command  the  top  price  on 
the  market. 

These  meat-producing  breeds  were  selected  after  careful 
investigation  as  to  the  merits  they  possessed  as  compared  with 
other  breeds  used  and  bred  for  that  purpose.  The  result  has 
proven  the  correctness  of  the  opinion  formed  in  their  favor. 


HEREFORD   COW,  JENNIE. 


281 


282  MCLEAN  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

There  are  many  good  breeders  of  these  classes,  but  it  has 
been  the  aim  at  the  Highland  Stock  Farm  to  bring  the  stock  to 
as  ^  high  a  state  of  perfection  as  possible.  That  I  have  suc- 
ceeded is  witnessed  by  the  reputation  that  my  stock  has  attained 
on  the  different  show  grounds. 

I  make  it  my  aim  to  bring  forward  from  the  different 
branches  the  best  meat  product. 

From  the  Herefords,  the  fat  steer,  from  the  Cotswold,  the 
fat  wether,  and  from  the  Berkshire  the  fat  pig. 

It  is  not  the  aim  at  the  Highland  Stock  Farm  to  bring 
out  a  monstrous-sized,  but  the  best  steer,  the  lest  wether,  the 
lest  pig,  at  the  earliest  ages,  and  by  such  methods  as  will  make 
it  profitable. 

Early  maturity,  fine  quality,  with  economy  of  production, 
these  are  the  aims. 


NELSON  JONES, 

TOWANDA,   MC  LEAN   COUNTY. 

Cattle^  Sheep  and  Hogs  —  Manner  of  Seeding  for  Pasture  and 
Meadows  —  A  Stock  Farm. 

HOME  PARK  FARM 

is  situated  in  McLean  county,  three  miles  southeast  of  the 
village  of  Towanda,  at  Smith's  Grove.  It  lies  on  a  small  stream 
of  living  water,  and  contains  nine  hundred  and  eight  acres. 
One  hundred  acres  are  in  timber  land,  and  are  well  set  in  blue 
grass.  During  the  Summer  this  is  used  for  pasture,  and  for 
feeding  grounds  during  the  cold  Winter  weather.  The  farm  is 
divided  into  several  tracts,  some  containing  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres,  and  others  but  small  lots.  Generally -each  field 
has  forty  acres,  which  makes  it  convenient  for  handling  several 
kinds  of  stock,  and  also  for  grain  raising.  I  devote  about  two 
hundred  acres  to  raising  corn,  oats  and  rye.  I  raise  from  forty 
to  sixty  acres  of  oats  and  rye  annually,  for  the  purpose  of  seed- 


SHORT -HORNS  — STEERS.  283 

ing  them  to  grass  and  restoring  the  land.  About  five  hundred 
and  fifty  acres  are  kept  for  grazing  cattle  and  sheep,  principally 
the  former,  of  which  I  graze  about  two  hundred  head  of  differ- 
ent ages,  and  about  two  hundred  sheep. 

I  raise,  each  year,  a  hundred  hogs,  and  they  use  the  litter 
from  the  feeding  cattle.  This  is  all  the  stock  I  keep  on  the 
farm.  For  all  the  various  uses  of  a  horse  on  the  farm,  I  prefer 
one  weighing  twelve  hundred  pounds,  with  as  much  thorough 
blood  as  possible,  so  as  to  ensure  soundness,  hardiness  and 
speed. 

I  keep  at  Home  Park  Place  a  herd  of  pure  bred 

SHORT-HORNS. 

I  have  at  present  thirty-five  head  of  the  following  families  : 
Miss  Wileys,  Doves,  Maid  of  Thornhill,  Beauties,  Young  Phyllis 
and  Van  Meter,  Red  Roses  or  imported  Young  Marys,  together 
with  the  young  bull  King  of  the  Roses,  34,254,  at  the  head  of 
the  herd.  He  is  pure  bred  Kirklevington.  I  keep  my  cows 
in  good  breeding  condition,  saving  the  heifers  for  breeding,  and 
selling  them  as  customers  need.  I  sell  the  young  bulls  to 
farmers  for  breeding  purposes,  making  steers  of  all  that  have 
bad  colors  and  such  as  I  think  are  unfit  for  breeding  purposes. 
Occasionally  I  join  in  a  public  sale  so  as  to  curtail  my  numbers. 
The  cows  are  grazed  during  the  grass  season  on  the  pastures, 
and  as  Winter  sets  in  I  stable  them  nights  and  feed  hay.  To 
those  giving  milk  I  feed  a  small  allowance  of  grain.  I  make 
use  of  the  milk  and  butter  in  my  family  and  sell  the  surplus. 

MODE   OF    HANDLING    STEERS. 

I  raise  fifteen  or  twenty  annually,  and  buy  good  grade 
steers  of  my  neighbors,  keeping  them  until  they  are  two  and  a 
half  or  three  years  old.  I  feed  the  calves  and  yearlings  in 
Winter  part  hay,  that  is  grown  on  the  farm,  allowing  them 
to  run  on  the  pastures  until  about  the  first  of  March,  when 
they  are  confined  in  a  smaller  lot  and  fed  hay  and  husked  corn 
till  they  are  turned  into  the  pastures  again,  which  is  done  about 
the  first  of  May.  They  run  on  the  pastures  and  have  a  full 
feed  of  corn  in  boxes  once  a  day,  if  I  intend  to  turn  them  off 


284  McLEAN   COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

in  the  early  part  of  the  Summer.  But  if  I  conclude  to  give 
them  Fall  feeding  I  let  them  run  on  the  grass  until  the  first  of 
October.  I  then  commence  Fall  feeding  on  grass,  allowing 
them  to  graze  on  a  full  feed  of  corn  till  frost  cuts  the  grass. 
In  November  I  place  them  in  small  lots  and  feed  them  until 
they  are  shipped  to  market.  It  takes  on  an  average  twenty- 
eight  pounds  of  corn  together  with  the  fodder,  and  plenty  of 
salt  and  water,  to  make  two  pounds  of  gain  per  day,  or  sixty 
pounds  per  month. 

I  keep  the  Merino  sheep.  They  are  hardy  and  consume 
less  food  than  the  large,  coarse,  woolly  breeds,  and  are  better 
adapted  for  large  herds. 

I  like  the  Poland  China  hog,  as  it  can  be  fattened  early. 
It  is  an  excellent  hog  to  follow  cattle. 

High  bred  meat-producing  animals  make  much  larger 
returns  for  the  food  consumed  than  poor  blooded  ones. 
They  readily  convert  all  the  grass,  hay  and  corn  grown  on  the 
farm  into  beef,  pork,  mutton  and  wool. 

My  plan  for  seeding  meadows  and  pastures  is  to  sow  eight 
quarts  of  well  cleansed  timothy  seed  and  four  quarts  red  clover 
seed  per  acre.  I  sow  the  timothy  in  February  on  a  snow,  on 
growing  rye,  and  the  clover  the  first  of  April ;  or  if  sown  after 
oats  that  were  sown  in  April,  sow  immediately  after  harrowing 
the  last  time.  Do  not  even  let  the  dew  fall  on  the  land  before 
sowing,  as  the  dew  or  rain  closes  the  pores  of  the  earth  and 
forms  a  crust  that  prevents  the  seed  from  sinking  into  the  soft 
earth  and  it  is  thus  scorched  to  death  with  the  heat  of  the  sun. 

I  mow  for  three  or  four  years,  permitting  the  cattle  to 
graze  from  the  blue  grass  pastures  after  the  grass  is  mown. 
In  a  few  years  the  meadows  are  thus  transformed  into  a  sod  of 
blue  grass,  without  sowing  a  seed.  Nearly  all  the  pastures 
on  my  farm  have  been  made  in  this  way,  and  have  been  used 
for  twenty-five  years.  They  grow  better  as  they  grow  older, 
and  are  less  liable  to  be  over-grown  with  ragweed.  I  consider 
blue  grass  the  best  for  a  permanent  pasture.  A  portion  of  my 
farm  is  thoroughly  underdrained,  an  investment  which  has 
brought  me  the  fullest  returns. 


COST  OF  BUILDINGS.  285 

My  dwelling  house  has  a  stone  foundation  (basement)  and 
the  front  is  of  pressed  brick,  and  finished  with  the  modern 
improvements,  at  a  cost  of  about  $12,000.  My  cattle  barn  is 
one  hundred  feet  long  and  fifty-eight  feet  wide.  It  also  has  a 
stone  foundation  with  brick  floors,  and  is  finished  in  the  most 
convenient  manner,  at  a  cost  of  $4,500.  These,  with  the  sta- 
bles for  horses,  scale  house  and  other  out-buildings,  comprise 
the  buildings  of  my  farm. 


GEORGE  A.  TRUE, 

WALTHAM,   LA  SALLE   COUNTY. 

Corn  and  Manner  of  Culture  —  Never  Lost  a  Crop  in  Twenty 
Years  —  How  to  Select  Hogs  —  Their  Feed  and  Care. 

CRYSTAL    SPRING  FARM 

is  situated  in  the  town  of  Waltham,  La  Salle  Co.,  four  miles 
from  Utica,  seven  and  a  half  from  LaSalle,  and  twelve  miles 
from  Ottawa.  All  of  these  towns  are  on  the  Illinois  and 
Michigan  Canal  and  the  Chicago,  Rock  Island  and  Pacific 
Railroad,  and  are  surrounded  by  the  finest  farming  sections  of 
country  to  be  found  anywhere. 

During  the  twenty-one  years  that  I  have  lived  here,  we 
have  never  lost  a  crop.  Of  course  the  yield  has  varied,  but 
has  never  been  anything  like  what  could  be  called  a  failure. 
My  smallest  crop  of  corn  averaged  twenty-five  bushels  per 
acre.  The  best  crop  was  in  1860,  when  the  warehouse  receipts 
showed  an  average  of  sixty-five  bushels  of  sixty  pounds,  or 
what  would  be,  at  fifty-six  pounds  per  bushel,  about  sixty-nine 
and  a  half  bushels  per  acre.  For  all  my  crop  accounts  the 
ground  was  measured  and  the  crop  weighed ;  I  do  not  believe 
in  guess  work. 

The  principal  reason  I  have  had  no  failures  is,  that  my 


286  LA  SALLE  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

land  is  nearly  all  well  drained  naturally,  and  has  a  subsoil  that 
allows  the  water  to  pass  through. 

WATER. 

On  this  farm  there  is  no  spot  where  the  water  stands, 
even  in  the  wettest  seasons.  I  have  at  all  times  an  abundance 
of  pure  spring  water,  having  quite  a  number  of  springs  in  the 
pasture  corner  of  the  farm  which  give  the  name  to  the  place. 
The  family  of  whom  I  purchased  in  1858  christened  it.  As 
I  have  plenty  of  pure  water  and  shelter  for  stock,  it  is  natural 
that  Crystal  Spring  Farm  should  be  run  as  a  stock  farm,  or  at 
least  for  grain  and  stock  mixed,  which  was  my  plan  for  the 
first  twelve  or  fourteen  years.  Then  I  tried  it  as  a  stock 
place  exclusively,  buying  my  grain,  but,  becoming  satisfied 
that  it  is  best  to  raise  what  is  fed,  and  to  feed  what  is  raised, 
I  have  gone  back  to  the  former  plan. 

BUILDINGS. 

The  buildings  are  in  about  the  center  of  the  farm,  so  as  to 
be  where  the  permanent  water  and  natural  shelter  are,  and 
where  there  is  sufficient  descent  to  enable  me  to  build  a  cellar 
barn  to  advantage,  and  to  have  the  corn  crib  built  on  the  level 
of  the  yard,  and  still  be  high  enough  above  the  feeding  plat- 
form below,  to  enable  me  to  spout  the  shell  corn,  or  slide  the 
ear  corn  into  wagons,  making  a  great  saving  in  labor.  There 
also,  in  the  cold,  windy  days  of  Winter,  the  stock  are  entirely 
sheltered  from  the  north  and  west  winds,  both  while  in  the 
yards,  and  when  going  to  and  from  the  drinking  places. 

COKN. 

Being  within  easy  reach  of  canal  market,  of  course  corn 
is  the  principal  crop  raised.  When  I  seeded  down  my  place  I 
ceased  to  keep  crop  accounts,  but,  for  the  twelve  years  from 
1860  to  1871  inclusive,  my  accounts  show  that  it  cost  me  an 
average  of  twenty-seven  and  two-thirds  cents  per  bushel  to  raise 
and  market  my  corn,  and  that  my  average  yield  was  forty-four 
bushels.  Since  breaking  up  my  fields  again,  the  yield  has  been 
about  sixty  bushels  per  acre. 


CULTIVATION  OF  CORN.  287 

My  way  of  preparing  the  ground,  and  putting  in  a  crop 
of  corn  is,  in  the  first  place  to  break  my  last  year's  stalks  when 
the  ground  is  frozen,  after  the  cattle  have  taken  all  they  will 
of  them.  Then,  when  the  ground  has  come  to  a  proper  con- 
dition for  plowing  in  the  Spring,  I  harrow,  turning  the  stalks 
across  the  way  I  intend  to  plow,  if  I  am  using  a  riding  plow, 
which  cuts  them  with  its  rolling  cutter.  If  using  a  walk- 
ing plow,  then  I  harrow  just  as  I  intend  to  plow.  4fter 
plowing,  I  cross  harrow,  and  then  run  the  harrow  the  same 
way  it  was  plowed,  which  is  the  way  I  plant,  and  I  want 
the  corn  stalks  that  are  on  the  surface,  turned  the  way  I 
run  the  planter.  Then,  if  the  ground  is  not  as  smooth  as  I 
wish,  I  put  on  the  roller.  As  a  sign  for  the  right  time  to 
plant,  I  regard  the  oak  buds  as  the  most  reliable,  as  when  the 
ground  is  warm  enough  to  start  them,  it  must  be'  warm  enough 
to  bring  up  the  corn.  I  drill  all  my  corn ;  have  done  so  for 
ten  or  twelve  years.  My  seed  corn  I  select  early  in  Septem- 
ber, before  all  the  corn  is  out  of  the  milk,  thus  getting  the 
earliest  ripening.  I  hang  this  up  on  the  same  day  it  is  picked 
in  a  dry  place,  where  the  air  can  circulate  through  it.  I  then 
feel  sure  it  will  grow,  if  it  is  not  planted  before  the  ground  is 
ready  for  it.  Two  and  a  half  or  three  inches  is  about  the 
right  depth  to  plant. 

I   CULTIVATE 

my  corn  as  follows :  After  planting  I  take  my  corn  plows  and 
cultivate  the  ground,  using  the  planter  mark  as  a  guide  to 
keep  from  moving  the  corn.  This  is  a  great  gain  over  the 
old  and  common  way  of  leaving  the  ground  till  the  first 
tending  of  corn  without  any  other  stirring  than  the  harrow 
can  give  it.  By  this  method  I  stir  the  ground  up  deeper  than 
I  can  at  any  time  after,  and  clear  the  way  for  the  first  tending, 
which  is  the  most  difficult,  as  well  as  the  most  important  of 
all  the  tendings.  I  throw  the  clods  and  stubs  (which  make 
it  so  difficult  to  plow  close  to  the  corn,  and  not  cover  it) 
to  the  surface,  where  they  can  be  broken  up  by  the  harrowing 
that  I  now  give  the  ground.  I  keep  the  big  harrows  going 


288  LA  SALLE   COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

till  the  corn  is  fairly  up,  and  even  longer,  if  the  ground  is  in 
good  condition,  which  it  ought  to  be  by  this  time.  This  will 
keep  the  weeds  from  getting  a  start,  and  as  soon  as  the  corn 
is  high  enough,  I  start  the  corn  plows,  going  slow,  very  slow, 
so  as  to  get  up  close  to  the  corn,  and  each  subsequent  time 
going  further  off,  turning  the  shovels  to  send  the  dirt  up  to 
the  corn.  If  the  top  of  the  ground  is  dry,  a  rolling  before 
tending  is  quite  a  help,  but  care  must  be  taken  not  to  roll 
when  the  corn  is  wet,  or  the  ground  sticky. 

SMALL  GRAIN. 

I  only  raise  oats  enough  to  seed  down  my  ground.  During 
the  years  above  mentioned  (1860  to  1871)  the  oats  I  did  raise 
cost  me  thirty-one  and  one-half  cents  per  bushel. 

Wheat  I  have  entirely  given  up  raising.  Ten  years  ago  I 
said  that  from  that  time  on  I  would  eat  (in  the  bread  line)  the 
sweat  of  some  other  man's  brow,  and  have  not  as  yet  seen 
any  cause  why  I  should  change  my  mind.  All  the  wheat  I 
ever  raised  cost  me  $1.08  per  bushel. 

The  great  natural  advantage  of  the  place  for  stock  raising 
and  handling,  caused  me,  as  soon  as  I  had  got  enough  ahead 
to  be  able  to  wait  the  slower  returns  that  are  incident  to  stock 
over  grain,  to  seed  down  more  of  my  ground,  so  as  to  be  able 
to  keep  more  stock. 

HOGS. 

My  first  start  with  hogs  was  with  the  Chester  Whites, 
which  were  at  that  time  quite  the  rage,  and  there  were  some 
very  fine  specimens  of  that  breed  shown  at  fairs ;  but,  though 
I  was  as  careful  in  selecting  as  I  knew  how  to  be,  and  certainly 
paid  high  enough  prices  for  them,  yet  the  results  were  discour- 
aging, and  my  hog  account  for  the  first  two  years  proved  that 
I  had  better  have  sold  my  corn  as  before.  I  then  turned  to 
the  Berkshires,  and  since  then  the  balance  has  been  on  the 
right  side.  For  quite  a  number  of  years  I  have  had  nothing 
but  thorough-bred  Berkshires  on  the  place.  There  is  no  ques- 
tion but  that  from  twenty  to  fifty  per  cent,  more  can  be  ob- 
tained for  corn  by  feeding  it  to  hogs,  if  one  only  has  the  right 


SELECTION  OF  SIRE  — PENS.  OgQ 

kind  of  hogs,  and  a  suitable  place  for  keeping  them  where 
they  can  be  kept  healthy.  The  right  kind  of  hogs  is  easily 
obtained,  and  there  are  plenty  of  farms  where  they  can  be 
handled  to  advantage,  but  how  to  keep  them  healthy  is  the 
great  problem.  In  endeavoring  to  solve  this  problem,  I  begin 
when  my  pigs  are  but  a  few  days  old,  in  March  and  April,  and 
by  a  judicious  use  of  a  small  club,  I  allow  none  but  healthy, 
vigorous  ones  to  grow  up.  Then,  when  selecting  my  breeding 
sows,  I  make  a  bright,  healthy,  vigorous  look  the  first  point, 
and  then  take  such  of  them  as  have  other  points  to  suit  me. 

SELECTION  OF  SIRE. 

The  boar,  too,  must  be  chosen  with  care,  for,,  as  he  comes 
generally  from  a  stock  with  which  you  are  not  acquainted,  you 
have  only  the  individual  specimen  to  judge  by.  I  would  much 
rather  go  to  a  man's  farm  and  purchase  my  pig,  than  to  buy 
him  at  a  fair,  as  then  I  could  see  his  whole  stock ;  but  generally 
we  have  to  select  from  pigs  fitted  up  for  show.  Several  times 
I  have  found  that  the  pig  I  had  bought  was  only  a  sham, 
and  when  he  was  put  into  proper  stock  order  he  was  not  such 
a  pig  as  I  would  use,  and  I  have  had  to  buy  again. 

PENS. 

I  have  always  taken  care  that  my  pigs  should  have  dry, 
well- ventilated  places  to  sleep  in,  keeping  them  clean,  by  often 
sweeping  them  out,  and  disinfecting  with  copperas  or  carbolic 
acid.  I  also  keep  salt  and  ashes,  and  copperas  and  sulphur, 
all  the  time,  where  all  my  pigs  can  help  themselves  to  it,  and 
take  or  leave  it,  as  they  choose.  They  generally  consume  a 
good  deal,  so  that  I  buy  by  the  barrel.  I  market  most  of  my 
pigs  at  eleven  or  twelve  months  old,  making  them  average 
about  three  hundred  pounds ;  this  being  the  way  to  get  the 
most  money  for  the  corn  fed,  according  to  my  experience. 
My  accounts  show  that  my  pigs  consume  twenty-four  and  one- 
third  bushels  of  corn  per  head,  and  make  twelve  and  one-third 
pounds  live  weight  per  bushel  of  corn  fed.  I  feed  corn  on  the 
cob,  dry,  the  pigs  going  to  the  spring  run,  close  by,  for  their 


290  KENDALL  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

drink.     This  is  their  only  feed,  except  that  they  have  the  run 
of  the  pasture  in  the  Summer. 

I  ought,  perhaps,  to  add  that,  notwithstanding  all  my  care 
and  sanitary  precautions,  I  have  had  a  touch  of  the  so-called 
hog  cholera,  losing  six  or  eight. 


R.  S.  HOOPER, 

BRISTOL,   KENDALL   COUNTY. 

A   Dairy   Farm  —  Makes    Crilt    Edge   Butter    From    Graded 
Short  Horns —  Clover  The  Farmers'1  Friend. 

WOOD   LAWN   FARM 

is  situated  fifty  miles  southwest  from  Chicago,  and  eight  miles 
in  the  same  direction  from  Aurora.  It  contains  two  hundred 
and  sixty  acres,  and  lies  in  Kendall  county,  half  a  mile  from 
Bristol. 

It  lies  in  a  portion  of  the  Fox  river  valley,  known  in  the 
early  history  of  the  country  as  "•  the  garden  of  the  West,5' 
which  richly  merited  the  title.  When  the  eye  of  the  pioneer 
settler  fell  upon  the  valley,  it  was  one  unbroken  surface  of 
prairie,  interspersed  with  wild  flowers,  and  outlined  by  the 
timber  of  the  Fox  river  on  one  side  and  Blackberry  creek  on 
the  other.  The  scene  must  have  been  truly  magnificent.  The 
improvements  that  have  since  been  made  have  not  detracted 
in  the  least  from  its  beauty,  but  have  rather  enhanced  it. 

This  delightful  portion  of  the  valley  of  the  Fox,  is  about 
six  miles  in  length,  and  from  one  to  three  in  breadth,  and  about 
in  the  center  of  the  tract  lies  Wood  Lawn. 

ADVANTAGES   AND  BUILDINGS. 

The  farm  possesses  every  natural  advantage,  being  well 
watered,  the  Fox  and  Blackberry  forming  two  of  its  boundary 
lines,  while  crystal  springs,  that  never  freeze  or  go  dry,  run 
through  portions  devoted  to  pasture.  The  farm  is  level  and 
perfectly  dry,  the  soil  being  composed  of  a  rich  loam  under- 
laid with  gravel  and  sand.  Water  is  obtained  any  where  by 


CONVENIENT  BUILDINGS.  291 

digging  from  fourteen  to  seventeen  feet.  The  former  owner  of 
the  farm  had  rented  it  for  years,  consequently  when  it  came 
into  the  possession  of  the  present  proprietor  it  contained  a  few 
of  the  old  buildings  erected  in  the  early  settlement  of  the 
county.  These  were  removed  before  erecting  such  as  seemed 
necessary  for  my  convenience.  I  commenced  improvements 
five  years  ago,  and  the  place  now  presents  quite  the  appearance 
of  a  village.  The  house  building  is  a  cottage  containing  just 
room  enough  for  use,  with  none  to  spare  for  damps  and  shadows. 
The  two  rooms  in  front  are  connected  with  an  arch,  and  are 
occupied  by  the  family  as  sitting-room,  library,  parlor,  etc. 
Next  is  a  pleasant  little  hall,  and  across  it  a  bedroom.  Extend- 
ing back  from  these,  are  the  dining-room,  kitchen,  pantry,  and 
cistern  room.  The  latter  is  a  small  room,  opening  from  the 
kitchen,  and  contains  a  sink,  etc.  Still  further  back  is  the 
laundry,  and  next  to  that  the  creamery,  where  the  milk  of 
twenty-five  graded  and  thorough-bred  Short  Horn  cows  is 
manufactured  into  fancy  butter,  for  which  the  highest  market 
price  is  received.  The  basement  has  a  furnace-room,  a  cellar 
for  vegetables,  and  a  storeroom.  Both  the  house  and  barn  are 
lighted  with  gas  manufactured  on  the  premises. 

The  barn  is  situated  conveniently  near,  and  contains  three 
stories.  The  upper  one  is  devoted  to  hay,  which  is  put  in  with 
a  patent  fork.  The  middle  story  contains  horse  stables^  carriage- 
room,  and  bedroom  in  which  a  man  usually  sleeps."  The  base- 
ment is  for  the  accommodation  of  the  dairy  cows,  and  the 
calves,  which  are  raised  by  feeding  skim  milk  with  flaxmeal 
and  grain.  By  this  means  I  have  been  able  to  turn  off  each 
year  a  carload  of  fine  two  year  old  grade  steers,  besides  keeping' 
the  dairy  supplied  with  heifers.  A  fine  thoroughbred  Short 
Horn  bull  is  kept  for  the  purpose  of  improving  the  grade  and 
raising  thorough-breds.  A  few  horses  are  bred  on  the  farmv 
mostly  of  the  class  intended  for  carriage  horses,  and  show  good 
results. 

•  The  number  of  horses  and  cattle  kept  are  about  one  hun- 
dred. Most  of  them  are  young  stock,  as  they  are  considered 
more  profitable  than  to  feed  older  ones. 


292  KENDALL  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

A  short  distance  from  the  barn  described  is  another,  built 
upon  a  stone  basement,  and  capable  of  holding  one  hundred 
tons  of  hay.  Under  it  are  box  stalls  for  the  accommodation  of 
young  stock,  and  for  breeding  purposes. 

A  hen  house,  corn  crib,  tool  house,  and  work  shop  arc 
among  the  many  conveniences,  and  last,  but  not  least,  are  two 
small  houses,  occupied  by  hired  men,  thus  relieving  the  good 
wife  of  the  burden  of  boarding  much  help.  These  buildings 
all  stand  on  good  foundations,  the  stone  of  which  was  taken 
from  the  quarry  on  the  farm. 

The  Poland  China  hog  receives  the  preference  on  this  farm. 
I  have  tried  several  breeds  and  have  decided  in  favor  of  the 
one  named.  I  raise  and  market  one  to  two  carloads  each  year. 

It  is  my  design  to  raise  just  grain  enough  to  feed  on  the 
place,  mainly  corn  and  oats.  About  two-thirds  of  the  land  is 
devoted  to  grass.  My  practice  has  been  to  spread  the  manure 
on  the  meadow  land,  and  then  plow  it  under  with  the  Fall 
growth  of  clover,  to  be  planted  with  corn  in  the  Spring.  After 
raising  two  crops  it  is  sown  to  oats,  and  again  seeded  to  clover. 

DAIRY. 

The  main  feature  of  this  farm,  however,  is  the  dairy, 
which  is  conducted  on  the  most  approved  modern  plan.  The 
milking  is  done  in  the  barn,  commencing  at  five  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  a  duty  to  which  all  are  called  by  a  large  bell  which 
hangs  in  the'belfry,  and  which  is  rung  by  the  man  in  charge. 
The  milk  is  strained  in  deep  pails,  and  taken  to  the  creamery, 
where  it  is  placed  in  water  in  cement  tanks  made  for  the  pur- 
pose. Ice  is  kept  in  the  room  above  the  tanks,  which  receive 
the  waste,  thus  keeping  the  water  and  room  cool.  The  churn- 
ing is  done  in  a  room  adjoining,  by  the  aid  of  a  revolving  churn^ 
with  horse  power.  This  management  results  in  a  very  fine 
article  of  butter,  and  is  very  remunerative. 

The  cows  are  fed  in  Winter  on  clover  hay  and  ground 
corn  and  oats  mixed  with  bran,  equal  parts.  In  Summer  the 
same  feed  is  given,  unless  the  cows  are  in  pasture,  when  the 
hay  is  omitted.  I  consider  clover  the  farmers'  friend,  and  will 
have  nothing  else. 


FRUIT  AND  TIMBER  GROWING.  293 

MILO  BARNARD, 

KANKAKEE,   KANKAKEE  COUNTY. 

Fruit  and  Timber  Growing — First  Mistake  of  Planting  Eastern 
Varieties  —  Twenty  Feet  Too  Close  to  Plant  Apple  Trees  — 
Cherry  Trees  Much  Better  Without  Cultivation —  Vine- 
yard of  Concord  Grapes —  Strawberry  Culture  —  Actual 
Measurement  of  Timber  on  my  Grounds  —  Planting  and 
Cultivation. 

The  majority  of  fanners  who  settled  the  Grand  Prairie 
region,  Illinois,  did  so  under  the  impression  that  fruit  could 
not  be  raised  profitably,  even  for  home  consumption,  and  that 
life  was  too  short  to  grow  forest  trees  expecting  to  reap  any 
benefit  therefrom  in  one  generation;  hence  these  very  im- 
portant branches  of  the  farmers'  calling  have,  in  most  cases, 
been  sadly  neglected. 

When  I  settled  here  in  1857,  I  entertained  the  prevailing 
opinion  in  regard  to  the  above  named  subjects,  but  soon  came 
to  take  a  different  view,  discovering  that  windbreaks  and 
shelter  belts  were  badly  needed  for  the  comfort  of  the  family, 
as  well  as  of  the  domestic  animals,  and  that  gardens  as  well  as 
field  crops,  were  greatly  benefited  by  a  judicious  planting  of 
screens  and  groves  of  timber. 

As  to  fruit,  it  soon  became  apparent  that  the  farmer  who 
did  not-raise  a  supply  usually  went  without,  and  the  great  im- 
portance, I  might  say  the  absolute  necessity,,  of  an  abundant 
supply  of  cooling,  luscious,  life-giving  fruits  in  their  season,  as 
a  promoter  of  health  and  happiness,  induced  me  to  take  the 
matter  in  hand  in  an  earnest  matter. 

As  timber  growing  (to  a  certain  extent  at  least)  seems 
necessary  to  successful  fruit  growing,  .1  shall  treat  the  two 
subjects  together. 

My  soil  is  the  common  black  prairie  mold  or  pasty  soil  that 
is  found  away  from  the  sand-ridges,  streams  and  ti-mber,  quite 


294  KANKAKEE  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

level,  but  rolling  enough  to  carry  off  most  of  the  surface  water. 
But  as  the  subsoil  is  mostly  clay,  of  a  yellowish  color,  it  holds 
water  pretty  well,  so  that  during  an  open  Winter  or  wet 
Summer,  we  are  not  entire  strangers  to  muddy  roads  and 
water-soaked  fields. 

APPLES. 

I  first  planted  four  hundred  apple  trees  on  the  highest 
land  I  could  find  near  my  house,  planting  them  twenty  feet 
apart  each  way ;  then  for  a  few  years  I  plowed  the  land  up  to 
the  trees,  leaving  dead  furrows  in  the  center  between  the  rows 
to  carry  off  the  water. 

At  the  time  of  planting  the  orchard,  I  also  planted  a  row 
of  red  cedar  on  the  west  and  north,  and  white  pine  on  the  east, 
twenty  feet  from  the  apple  trees,  and  back  of  this,  belts  of 
deciduous  trees  from  four  to  eight  rods  wide.  I  kept  the 
ground  clean  and  mellow  by  cultivation,  and  the  trees  all  made 
rapid  growth.  Some  of  the  apple  trees  came  into  bearing  in 
four  to  five  years.  Right  here  I  should  mention  mistake 
number  one.  It  was  the  old  story  of  Eastern  varieties,  such  as 
Newtown  Pippin,  Fall  Pippin,  Rhode  Island  Greening,  etc., 
unsuited  to  our  soil  and  locality.  Some  of  these  trees  (though 
twenty  years  planted)  have  never  borne  enough  to  pay  the 
first  cost  of  the  trees,  while  Early  Trenton,  Keswick  Codlin, 
Lowell,  Fall  Winesap  of  the  West,  Domine,  Rawls  Janet, 
Jonathan,  Ben  Davis,  Fulton,  Golden  Sweeting,  Roman  Stem, 
Golden  Russet  and  many  others  have  done  well,  though  not 
planted  until  a  subsequent  period.  This  second  planting  is 
quite  common  here,  after  experience  has  opened  our  eyes  and 
sharpened  our  wits. 

There  are  other  mistakes  that  should  be  mentioned  in  this 
connection.  Twenty  feet  is  too  close  to  plant  apple  trees, 
thirty  feet  is  nearer  right,  and  some  kinds  should  be  even 
farther  apart  than  this. 

The  shelter  belt  should  be  forty  or  fifty  feet  from  the  apple 
trees,  and  black  walnut  or  butternut  should  not  come  nearer 
than  one  hundred  or  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  as  they  are 
sure  death  to  fruit  trees  when  planted  close. 


CHERRIES  — GRAPES.  295 

Our  surplus  apples  have  been  mostly  absorbed  by  the  home 
^market.  Some  have  been  barreled  and  shipped  to  Chicago. 

My  first  planting  of  pear  trees  did  well  and  bore  several 
good  crops,  then  the  blight  attacked  them  and  they  were  soon 
dead.  Subsequent  plantings  have  done  but  little  good,  and 
pear  growing  at  present,  at  least,  seems  under  a  cloud.  Peaches 
are  not  planted  with  the  expectation  of  their  proving  remuner- 
ative, although  I  grow  fine  peaches  some  seasons. 

CHERKIES. 

Cherries,  as  a  rule,  do  well.  I  refer  to  the  Early  Rich- 
mond and  others  of  the  Morello  class.  But  there  are  some 
failures,  and  my  experience  may  benefit  some  one,  as  my  ignor- 
ance cost  me  a  good  sized  cherry  orchard.  I  cultivated  my 
trees  even  after  they  began  to  bear,  kept  them  growing  too 
late,  and  a  cold  Winter  killed  them.  Since  then  I  have  inves- 
tigated -the  matter  quite  thoroughly,  and  am  convinced  that 
cherries  do  much  better  without  cultivation,  at  all  events,  after 
the  trees  come  into  bearing. 

The  Duke  cherries  thrive  in  some  parts  of  our  county,  but 
the  sweet  varieties  are  not  a  success.  Cherries  are  about 
equally  divided  between  Chicago  and  the  home  market.  I 
have  shipped  both  in  quart  boxes  and  in  boxes  holding  half  a 
bushel. 

GRAPES. 

I  have  had  fair  success  in  grape  growing,  but  during  the 
last  few  years,  the  rot  has  shortened  the  crop  considerably.  I 
plant  the  Concord  mainly,  having  found  it  far  ahead  of  any 
thing  else  tried,  for  the  main  crop.  Hartford,  Ives,  Clinton, 
Catawba,  Isabella,  Delaware,  Martha  and  others,  including 
many  of  the  Hybrids,  have  been  grown  with  more  or  less 
success.  There  are  portions  of  our  county  where  the  Hybrids 
and  finer  varieties  do  well  on  the  sand  hills  and  ridges. 

I  have  a  vineyard  of  one  acre  of  Concord  vines,  planted 
some  twelve  years  ago.  They  were  planted  six  feet  apart  each 
way,  and  trained  to  a  single  stake,  generally  with  two  canes 
from  the  ground  or  near  it,  twisted  each  way  around  the 


290  KANKAKEE   COUNTY   ILLINOIS. 

stake,  and  tied  with  strong  twine  at  the  top,  and  pruned 
on  the  Spur  system.  These  have  borne  as  high  as  five  tons  in 
a  season,  but  as  before  mentioned,  have  not  done  as  well  for  a 
few  years  past,  on  account  of  the  rot.  I  have  never  made  any 
wine.  Some  few  of  these  grapes  have  been  made  into  wine 
after  passing  out  of  my  hands,  but  the  most  of  them  have  been 
used  for  the  table.  A  light  crop  has  generally  been  consumed 
by  the  home  market,  while  in  good  bearing  years  Chicago  has 
taken  a  part.  I  have  handled  them  in  crates,  half  bushel  boxes 
and  three  pound  boxes,  but  prefer  the  half  bushel  box.  One 
change  I  would  make  if  planting  again,  I  would  plant  farther 
apart,  say  eight  feet  each  way. 

SMALL  FRUIT. 

But  the  fruit  most  neglected,  the  easiest  raised,  and  the 
most  profitable  for  family  use  is  the  small  or  berry  fruit.  The 
strawberry,  the  king  of  the  berry  family,  is  about  the  only  fruit 
that  grows  naturally  on  our  prairie  soil.  Strawberries  should 
have  good  culture  the  first  year,  then  if  they  are  properly 
mulched,  we  can  take  two  crops  without  disturbing  the  soil, 
after  which,  however,  the  old  bed  should  be  plowed  up  and 
a  new  one  planted. 

Raspberries,  blackberries,  currants  and  gooseberries  require 
good  cultivation  or  heavy  mulch  ;  they  then  produce  bountiful 
crops,  excepting  the  blackberry,  which  has  suffered  from  Winter 
killing,  but  with  the  Snyder  and  other  reputed  hardy  kinds, 
we  may  anticipate  more  uniform  success. 

TIMBER. 

Knowing  the  value  of  timber  to  the  prairie  farmer,  and 
having  succeeded  beyond  my  most  sanguine  expectations  in 
growing  the  same,  a  few  notes  touching  the  growth  of  different 
varieties  may  benefit  some  beginner. 

The  following  are  actual  measurements  taken  from  timber 
cut  on  my  grounds  : 

Lombardy  poplar,  fourteen  years  old,  fifty-four  feet  high, 
twenty-two  and  one-half  inches  in  diameter  at  the  base,  one 
year's  top  growth  or  increase  in  hight,  four  feet  five  inches  j: 


TIMBER.  297 

a  rapid  grower,  forming  straight  poles,  but  a  short-lived  tree. 
Cottonwood,  seventeen  years  old,  fifty  feet  in  hight,  eighteen 
inches  in  diameter,  top  growth  four  feet ;  a  rapid  grower,  good 
for  windbreaks  and  firewood.  Golden  willow,  thirteen  years 
old,  forty  feet  six  inches  in  hight,  sixteen  and  one-half  inches 
in  diameter,  one  season's  top-growth,  three  feet  four  inches ; 
good  for  windbreaks,  fuel,  and  ornamentation.  White  willow, 
thirteen  years  old,  forty-six  feet  in  hight,  eleven  and  one-half 
inches  in  diameter,  one  season's  top  growth,  two  feet  and 
seven  inches  ;  more  upright,  and  attaining  greater  size,  than 
the  Golden  and  a  good  grove  tree.  This  specimen  was  double, 
the  tree  being  forked  at  the  ground,  and  my  measurement  was 
of  one  half  only,  hence  the  small  diameter.  Silver  poplar, 
fifteen  years  old,  forty-two  feet  in  hight,  twenty-two  inches  in 
diameter,  on-3  season's  top  growth  three  feet  seven  inches  ; 
a  good  grove  tree  of  rapid,  healthy  growth,  but  can  not  be 
recommended  for  door-yards,  on  account  of  its  sprouting  pro- 
pensities. Soft  maple,  thirteen  years  old,  thirty-one  feet  in 
hight,  nine  inches  in  diameter,  one  season's  top  growth,  three 
feet  four  inches ;  a  valuable,  well-known  tree.  Balm  of  Gil- 
ead,  seventeen  years  old,  thirty-one  feet  in  hight,  ten  inches  in 
diameter,  top  growth  only  a  few  inches  ;  tree  unhealthy,  and 
utterly  worthless  with  me.  Aspen,  thirteen  years  old,  thirty- 
one  feet  in  hight,  seven  inches'  in  diameter,  top  growth,  four 
feet  six  inches  ;  like  the  Balm  of  Gilead,  unhealthy  and  worth- 
less as  a  timber  tree.  Ash-leaved  maple,  nine  years  old,  twenty- 
eight  feet  in  hight,  six  and  one-half  inches  in  diameter,  one 
year's  top  growth,  four  feet  six  inches ;  healthy,  a  good  grower, 
valuable  for  street,  door-yard  or  grove,  also  for  sugar-making 
purposes.  Sycamore,  thirteen  years  old,  thirty-four  feet  in 
hight,  eleven  inches  in  diameter,  one  season's  top  growth,  four 
feet ;  good  grower,  and  excellent  shade  tree  on  account  of  its 
large  leaves.  Butternut,  thirteen  years  old,  thirty-one  feet  in 
Light,  seven  and  one-half  inches  in  diameter,  one  season's  top 
growth,  four  feet  seven  inches ;  a  rapid  growing,  healthy  tree, 
valuable  for  its  timber  and  nuts.  Black  walnut,  seventeen 
years  old,  forty-one  feet  eight  inches  in  hight,  seven  and  one- 


298  KANKAKEE  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

half  inches  in  diameter,  one  season's  top  growth,  five  feet  seven 
inches ;  a  healthy,  long-lived  tree  for  grove  or  road-side,  and 
hard  to  excel  for  its  valuable  timber  and  nuts,  but  can  not  be 
recommended  for  door-yards,  especially  near  the  house,  on 
account  of  its  meagre  shade,  and  its  liability  to  the  attacks  of 
the  caterpillars.  White  ash,  fifteen  years  old,  twenty-seven 
feet  six  inches  in  hight,  ten  inches  in  diameter,  one  season's 
top  growth,  two  feet  seven  inches  ;  a  healthy,  clean,  beautiful 
tree,  excellent  for  door-yards  or  lawns,  a  rapid  grower,  easy 
to  transplant,  and  second  only  to  the  black-walnut  in  the  value 
of  its  timber.  Red  oak,  twelve  years  old,  twenty-five  feet 
seven  inches  in  hight,  six  and  one-half  inches  in  diameter,  one 
season's  top  growth,  two  feet  two  inches.  Red  cedar,  eighteen 
years  old,  twenty  feet  five  inches  in  hight,  nine  inches  in  diam- 
eter. Scotch  pine,  sixteen  years  old,  twenty-eight  feet  in  hight, 
twelve  and  one-half  inches  in  diameter,  one  season's  top 
growth,  twenty-two  inches.  White  pine,  fourteen  years  old, 
thirty  feet  six  inches  in  hight,  eleven  and  one-half  inches  in 
diameter,  one  season's  top  growth,  four  feet  two  inches ;  the 
most  valuable  tree  on  our  continent. 

To  make  the  list  more  complete  of  the  more  common  kinds 
of  timber  trees,  I  add  the  measurements  of  a  few  varieties  I 
had  no  occasion  to  cut. 

Austrian  pine,  sixteen  years  old,  twenty-five  feet  high,  ten 
inches  in  diameter.  Norway  spruce,  twenty  years  old,  twenty- 
eight  feet  high,  fourteen  and  one-half  inches  in  diameter.  Bal- 
sam fir,  twent}r  years  old,  thirty-two  feet  six  inches  high,  four- 
teen inches  in  diameter.  American  larch,  eighteen  years  old, 
thirty-four  feet  high,  ten  inches  in  diameter.  Hard  maple, 
thirteen  years  planted  from  forest,  thirty-four  feet  high,  ten 
inches  in  diameter.  Red  elm,  thirteen  years  planted,  thirty- 
eight  feet  high,  thirteen  inches  in  diameter. 

The  diameter  given,  in  all  cases,  is  for  the  wood  only, 
exclusive  of  bark. 

PLANTING  AND    CULTIVATION. 

Many  farmers  are  deterred  from  planting  forest  trees,  by 
a  lack  of  practical  knowledge  on  the  subject.  A  few  plain, 


PLANTING  AND  CULTIVATION.  299 

simple  directions  may,  therefore,  benefit  some  new  beginner, 
who  is  desirous  of  surrounding  himself  with  the  comfort  and 
home-like  appearance  that  trees  alone  can  give. 

I  find  from  experience  that  all  nut-bearing  trees  are  best 
planted  where  they  are  to  remain  ;  others,  such  as  ash,  maple, 
and  elm,  should  grow  one  year  in  the  seed-bed,  and  then  be 
transplanted  to  the  grove.  Willows,  cottonwood,  and  poplar, 
are  best  grown  from  cuttings ;  these  may  be  transplanted  suc- 
cessfully, but  the  growth  is  more  satisfactory  and  expense  less, 
if  planted  in  their  permanent  places.  Of  course  evergreens 
must  be  transplanted,  as  they  are  difficult  to  raise  from  seed. 

The  last  fourteen  acres  of  forest  that  I  planted,  was  done 
in  a  more  systematic  manner  than  was  my  first  or  previous 
planting.  I  commenced  in  the  Fall  to  procure  seed  of  the  nut- 
bearing  trees,  such  as  walnut,  butternut,  oak,  and  hickory. 
Without  giving  them  time  to  dry,  I  covered  them  slightly  with 
earth  in  shallow  trenches  on  dry  land,  scattered  thinly  so  the 
earth  would  come  in  contact  with  all  or  most  of  them.  The 
freezing  and  thawing  during  the  Winter  opened  the  nuts  in  a 
natural  manner,  and  by  the  time  my  ground  was  ready  in  the 
Spring,  they  were  in  nice  condition  for  planting,  some  of  them 
with  sprouts  on  four  inches  long. 

The  seedlings,  such  as  ash,  maple,  etc.,  also  young  ever- 
greens, I  had  secured  by  sowing  seed  myself,  the  Spring  before, 
or  from  nurserj'men. 

Then  as  soon  as  the  ground  was  dry  enough  in  the  Spring, 
I  had  it  plowed,  dragged,  and  marked  both  ways  with  a  corn- 
marker,  the  rows  being  near  four  feet  apart.  Then  we  were 
ready  for  planting.  One  took  the  nuts  in  a  pail  and  dropped 
one  at  each  cross,  making  a  hole  with  the  heel  of  the  boot  where 
the  marker  had  not  made  a  furrow  of  sufficient  depth,  and  one 
followed,  covering  with  a  hoe,  same  as  planting  corn  in 
the  old  way,  and  about  as  deep  (two  inches).  In  planting  the 
seedlings,  each  man  took  a  spade,  and  a  pailful  of  plants  with 
a  little  water  in  the  pail  to  keep  the  roots  from  drying  ;  he  then 
set  the  spade  in  the  cross,  a  little  slanting,  pushed  it  in  the 
length  of  the  blade,  raised  it  up  a  little  on  the  handle,  so  as  to 


800  KANKAKEE  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

form  an  opening  back  of  or  under  the  blade,  and  thrust  in  a 
plant ;  then  drew  out  the  spade,  pressed  the  earth  back  with 
his  foot,  and  passed  on  to  the  next.  Cuttings  were  planted  in 
the  same  way,  except  that  in  using  the  spade  the  man  thrust 
it  in  the  ground  by  hand. 

This  mode  of  planting  admits  of  very  rapid  as  well  as  accu- 
rate work,  and  having  the  field  all  marked,  we  could  plant  in 
rows  across  the  field  or  in  groups,  as  suited  us  best.  Some  parts 
of  the  field  were  quite  wet  and  sloughy,  and  there  we  planted 
willow,  silver  leaf  poplar,  soft  maple,  American  larch,  and 
such  other  trees  as  do  well  in  wet  land.  On  the  dryer  portion 
we  planted  walnut,  butternut,  European  larch,  and  such  trees 
as  will  not  endure  wet  feet.  Land  dry  enough  for  corn  will  do 
well  for  this  class  of  trees.  Then  about  every  fourth  row  we 
planted  evergreens,  such  as  white,  Scotch,  Austrian,  and  red 
pine,  spruce,  balsam  fir,  arborvitse,  red  cedar,  hemlock,  etc. 
Thus  in  time  we  can  cut  out  the  deciduous  trees  if  we  wish,  and 
have  a  forest  entirely  of  evergreens. 

The  cultivation  was  not  unlike  the  cultivation  of  corn  for 
the  first  year  or  two,  working  the  ground  both  ways  with  a 
double  rig,  and  hoeing  near  the  plants  the  first  year  where  nec- 
essary. After  the  second  year  we  had  to  use  a  single  horse 
and  a  double-shovel  plow,  on  account  of  the  size  of  the  trees. 
We  cultivated  four  seasons  ;  then  the  trees  were  large  enough 
to  shade  the  ground  sufficiently  to  keep  down  grass  and  weeds. 
In  some  situations  and  with  some  kinds  of  timber,  three  and 
even  two  years'  cultivation  might  suffice  ;  but  it  should  be  con- 
tinued until  the  trees  have  sufficient  size  to  take  care  of  them- 
selves, and  root  enough  so  that  growth  will  not  be  retarded  or 
stunted  by  a  cessation  of  cultivation.^ 

In  my  earlier  planting  I  gave  more  space,  rows  from  eight 
to  twelve  feet  apart,  and  grew  some  kind  of  hoed  crop  between 
the  rows  for  a  few  years,  and  of  course  had  to  continue  the 
cultivation  much  longer.  But  I  prefer  close  planting,  espe- 
cially where  trees  and  seed  are  as  cheap  as  they  are  here  at  the 
present  time.  The  upward  growth  is  more  rapid  in  close  plant- 
ing, making  straighter,  nicer  timber,  and  requiring  less  prun- 


CULTIVATION  OP  TIMBER.  301 

ing.  My  timber  has  mostly  been  left  to  nature's  pruning, 
though  I  have  assisted  some.  From  my  limited  experience  I 
think  it  better,  where  trees  are  planted  expressly  for  timber, 
to  keep  them  trimmed  up  half  or  two-thirds  the  length  of 
the  tree. 

Of  course  the  thinning  must  begin  sooner  with  thick  than 
with  wide  planting.  But  on  this  subject  no  definite  rules  can 
be  given  as  to  time.  As  soon  as  they  begin  to  crowd  and  over- 
shadow each  other,  the  thinning  should  begin,  and  be  contin- 
ued from  time  to  time  as  circumstances  require  and  judgment 
dictates. 


KANSAS. 


R.  J.  WEMYSS, 

ABILIXE,   CLAY   COUNTY. 

Manager  Kansas   Wheat  Land  Trusts  —  Winter    Wheat  Farm 
on  the   Contract  System. 

THE  WHEAT  LAND  TRUSTS 

farm  is  situated  ten  miles  south  of  Clay  Center,  and  consists 
of  2,880  acres,  all  in  Fall  wheat.  The  prairie  was  broken 
in  May  and  Jun,e  of  1879,  with  the  ordinary  breaking  plow, 
to  a  depth  of  from  two  to  three  inches.  A  portion  (about 
one  quarter)  was  cross  plowed  and  dragged  twice,  from  July 
20th  to  August  10th ;  the  plowing  being  closely  followed  by 
the  harrows.  It  was  then  seeded  from  September  10th  to  20th 
with  the  "Chicago  Screw  Harrow,"  and  dragged  once. 

The  remainder  ot  the  land  was  not  plowed,  but  was  run 
over  three  times,  trom  August  5th  to  October  5th,  with  the 
screw  harrow,  the  seed  being  sown  the  third  time,  and  then 
dragged  once.  The  quantity  of  seed  sown  per  acre  was  one 
and  one-half  bushels ;  the  screw  harrow  having  a  force  feed 
broadcast  seeder. 

The  variety  sown  was : 

Early  Red  May,  -  1,020  acres. 

Fultz  (Red),  -        -        -       480     " 

Walker,  "  -        -  290     " 

Odessa,   "      -  -       540     " 

Clawson  (White),       -  -  200     " 

Kansas,  "  -       350      " 

The  land  is  rolling,  upland  prairie,  of  limestone  formation* 
with  an  immense  growth  of  grass,  blue-joint  mostly.  The  soil 
is  a  heavy  clay  loam. 

This  work  was  all  done  by  contract,  the  Trust  furnishing 
nothing  but  the  screw  harrows  (of  which  ten  were  used)  and 


CULTIVATION  BY  CONTRACT.  303 

the  seed  wheat.     The  labor  was  all  done  by  the  acre,  and  the 
contractors  furnished  themselves  with  subsistence  and  imple- 
ments (excepting  the  screw  harrows  mentioned  above). 
The  prices  paid  for  work  were  as  follows : 

Breaking  prairie,  per  acre,  $1  75. 

Cross-plowing,          "     "  1  25. 

Dragging,  "     "     -  20. 

Drawing  Screw  Harrow,  per  acre,  40. 

The  average  cost  per  acre  was  $5.20  for  the  land  cross- 
plowed,  and  $4.35  for  the  land  screw  harrowed.  In  November, 
1879,  there  was  no  perceptible  difference  between  the  wheat 
on  the  ground  that  was  cross-plowed  and  that  which  was  not ; 
the  stand  being  an  excellent  one  throughout.  This  wheat  will 
be  cut  with  the  Header,  and  stacked  for  $1.50  per  acre  ;  and 
threshed  and  hauled  to  the  railroad  for  ten  cents  per  bushel, 
the  parties  doing  the  work  furnishing  every  thing. 

Upon  old  ground  the  cost  of  seeding  would  be  about  $2.00 
per  acre  less  than  that  of  new  land.  With  a  moderate  season 
(and  it  has  been  unusually  favorable  so  far)  and  no  accident, 
this  first  crop  will  yield  about  twenty  bushels  to  the  acre  ;  but 
the  first  crop  is  not  generally  as  heavy  as  the  subsequent  ones. 


JOHN  F.  HILL, 

OSWEGO,   LABETTE   COUNTY. 

A  Model  Home  in  Ten  Years  —  A  Yoke  of  Oxen  the  Foundation 
—  First  Wheat  Crop — Methods — Hard  Labor — Persever- 
ance and  Economy. 

SHADY   SIDE. 

It  may  seem  strange  that  I  should  claim  to  possess  a 
Model  Farm,  made  within  ten  years,  and  that,  too,  upon  the 
extreme  limits  of  civilization,  and  within  a  stone's  throw  of  the 
wild  homes  of  the  red  men  of  the  West.  Such,  indeed,  is  a 


304  LABETTE  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

fact,  if  my  ideas  of  a  model  farm  and  an  independent  home 
are  correct. 

HISTORY. 

My  family  and  myself  came  here  from  the  Buckeye  State, 
in  March,  1870.  This  was  then  a  comparatively  new  country. 
People  were  moving  in  from  every  section  of  the  Union,  taking 
up  claims  upon  Government  lands,  building  cabins,  and  open- 
ing settlements.  As  a  general  thing  they  were  all  poor,  having 
been  tenants  in  some  of  the  older  settled  States,  and  I  was  no 
better  than  any  of  the  rest.  What  little  money  I  brought  with 
me,  I  spent  in  buying  a  man  off,  who  held  a  claim  upon  eighty 
acres  of  land,  and  in  purchasing  a  yoke  of  oxen  to  begin  with. 
I  was  not  as  halo  and  strong  as  a  man  should  be,  who  goes  to 
open  a  home  on  the  frontier  ;  for  I  was  one  of  the  many  badly 
wounded  soldiers  of  the  late  war.  My  help  was  an  industrious 
and  frugal  wife,  and  four  stout  boys,  whose  ages  were  from 
eight  to  fourteen. 

"We  began  life  here  through  many  disadvantages.  There 
were  no  railroad  facilities  then,  and  every  thing  we  had  to  buy 
was  high.  We  all  went  to  work  with  a  zest,  and  a  determina- 
tion to  succeed.  We  had  to  deny  ourselves  many  comforts, 
and  use  the  most  rigid  economy,  so  as  not  to  get  into  debt. 
My  eighty  acres  of  prairie  land  was  large  enough  to  begin 
with ;  in  fact,  it  was  as  much  as  my  boys  at  their  age  could 
cultivate  with  a  single  yoke  of  oxen.  All  I  was  able  to  do 
was  to  manage  and  superintend.  To  furnish  employment  for 
myself,  and  also  to  furnish  us  means  to  subsist  on,  I  commenced 
teaching  a  country  school.  While  the  boys  were  at  work  on 
the  farm,  I  was  in  the  school-room  earning  money  to  help  to 
live  and  improve  the  land. 

FIRST  CROP 

The  first  thing  to  be  done  was  to  break  some  of  the  wild 
prairie.  This  was  accomplished  by  employing  a  man  at  four 
dollars  per  acre.  The  boys  put  it  into  sod  corn,  which  grew 
without  any  further  cultivation,  and  made  an  excellent  crop, 
yielding  enough  to  more  than  pay  for  the  breaking  and  sodding 


FIRST  CROP  — PROGRESS.  305 

in.  We  managed  to  get  in  thirty-five  acres  of  wheat  the  first 
season ;  doing  all  the  work  with  our  ox  team.  We  were  too 
poor  to  own  a  pony  for  riding  purposes.  We  went  to  mill,  to 
market,  to  church,  and  to  visit  friends  with  our  ox  team.  I 
might  tell  many  amusing  incidents  of  our  pioneer  life,  if  my 
article  was  upon  that  subject.  The  first  year  we  were  upon 
the  farm  we  had  nothing  to  sell.  My  only  income  was  my 
salary  as  a  teacher,  and  a  small  pittance  which  the  Government 
gave  me  as  a  pension.  That  year  we  made  and  raised  enough 
to  keep  just  soul  and  body  together  —  poor  and  hard  as  it  was. 
Our  first  wheat  crop  was  a  very  good  one,  for  the  ground 
was  fresh  and  the  season  favorable.  The  crop  yielded  eight 
hundred  and  sixty  bushels.  After  keeping  seed  and  bread  out, 
the  remainder  was  sold,  and  after  paying  out  all  expenses,  it 
left  us  a  profit  of  over  three  hundred  dollars.  This,  with  my 
wages  of  three  hundred  dollars  for  six  months'  teaching,  gave 
us,  as  we  thought  then,  a  good  capital  to  begin  with.  Our 
first  investment  was  in  fruit  trees,  which  however,  should  have 
been  planted  earlier,  for  it  took  years  before  we  could 
realize  anything  from  them.  A  portion  of  this  money  we  also 
spent  in  building  a  more  comfortable  dwelling.  The  house 
we  were  living  in,  had  been  put  up  by  the  original  squatter, 
and  was  of  round,  unhewn  logs,  the  cracks  daubed  with  mud, 
and  had  a  stick  chimney  for  a  fireplace.  The  whole  thing 
would  not  make  a  comfortable  stable  in  an  old  settled  State. 
The  remainder  of  the  money  was  spent  for  domestic  stock,  and 
a  few  necessaries  of  life. 

PROGRESS. 

The  second  year  we  broke  more  prairie,  which  went  into 
sod  corn ;  and  we  also  put  in  that  Fall  forty-five  acres  of  wheat, 
all  the  work  being  done  by  the  boys  and  the  single  yoke  of 
oxen.  The  wheat  crops  were  then  sown  broadcast,  on  account 
of  the  ground  being  too  soddy  to  use  the  drill.  I  taught  again 
that  Fall  and  Winter,  and  the  bo}7s  went  to  school.  In  the 
season  following,  our  crops  were  very  good,  and  we  had  a 
bountiful  supply  of  most  every  thing.  Prices  were  generally 


306  LABETTE  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

good,  and  when  all  our  produce  was  sold,  and  all  the  expenses 
paid,  we  found  that  we  had  a  good  profit  left  to  invest  in 
something  else.  We  concluded  then  that  our  farm  of  eighty 
acres  was  too  small,  so  wo  bought  and  added  forty  acres  more 
adjoining.  We  also  bought  moro  farm  utensils  and  machinery, 
and  some  more  comforts  for  the  house. 

The  next  year  we  broke  more  prairie,  put  in  a  larger 
acreage  of  wheat  and  other  grains,  so  that  when  the  next 
year's  settlement  was  made,  AVC  found  that  our  profits  had 
increased  in  proportion  also.  More  land,  stock  and  machinery 
were  bought,  and  also,  more  improvements  were  added  to  the 
house,  the  orchard,  and  the  farm.  The  same  plan  was  pursued 
the  next  year,  and  the  next,  and  so  on,  down  to  the  present 
time.  Every  j-ear  we  would  put  out  more  crops,  add  more 
acres  to  the  homestead,  make  additional  improvements  over  the 
farm,  and  increase  our  comforts,  till  perhaps  we  may  be  now 
allowed  to  claim  that  we  have  one  of  the  best  homes  of  the 
country,  and  a 

MODEL  FARM. 

Oar  homestead  consists  of  three  hundred  and  forty-four 
acres,  all  in  one  body.  Of  this,  two  hundred  and  eighty  are  in 
cultivation,  and  all  is  under  a  good  hedge  fence.  I  have  a 
good  dwelling  house,  large  barn,  and  all  kinds  of  out-houses, 
too  numerous  to  mention.  Also,  an  orchard  of  over  one  thou- 
sand fruit  trees  —  some  bearing,  and  others  just  beginning  to 
bear  —  consisting  of  apples,  peaches,  pears,  plums,  cherries, 
apricots,  nectarines,  quinces,  grapes,  and  all  kinds  of  small 
fruit.  Besides  this,  there  are  farm  tools  and  machinery  of 
all  kinds,  with  horses,  cattle,  mules,  and  hogs  sufficient  to  carry 
on  a  farm  of  this  size.  The  house  is  well  situated  on  a  rise, 
thirty  rods  from  the  road,  with  a  beautiful  yard  and  artificial 
grove  in  front  and  rear,  containing  evergreens  and  forest  trees. 
Through  the  yard  are  walks  and  drives,  and  along  their  borders 
are  found  shrubbery  and  flowers  of  all  kinds  growing.  My 
farm  lies  on  each  side  of  a  public  road.  The  dwelling  house, 
orchards,  and  garden  are  on  the  west  side,  and  on  the  east  are 


HEDGES  AND  SHEDS  — METHOD.          307 

the  barn,  stables,  cribs,  hog  pens,  and  feed  lots.  These  are  far 
enough  from  the  dwelling  to  prevent  our  being  annoyed  or 
bothered  with  the  filth  and  stench  incident  to  the  barn  yard. 

HEDGES. 

The  hedges  are  mostly  from  four  to  eight  years  old.  They 
are  kept  neatly  trimmed,  and  woven  down,  so  as  to  make  them 
hog  tight.  The  hedges  along  the  road,  which  is  sixty  feet 
wide,  have  ten  feet  of  dirt  thrown  up  to  them  from  the  road. 
Between  this  ten  feet  of  dirt  and  the  road  proper,  are  ditches 
on  each  side  that  drain  the  road.  Between  this  ditch  and  the 
hedge  there  is  a  row  of  forest  trees  planted  on  each  side,, 
just  one  rod  apart.  Along  the  hedges  through  the  fields,  the 
dirt  is  thrown  up  to  the  hedge  again,  making  good  turning- 
rows  and  wagon  roads  all  around  the  fields.  Around  the 
hedges  the  weeds  are  kept  down  by  constant  mowing. 

SHEDS. 

Sheds  are  prepared  annually  for  all  kinds  of  stock  that 
we  are  able  yet  to  Winter.  We  find  it  is  much  cheaper  to 
have  good  shelter  than  to  feed  an  extra  amount  of  grain.  Our 
hogs  are  fed  on  wooden  floors,  and  in  close  pens,  off  the 
ground.  Enough  feed  can  be  saved  every  year  in  fattening 
a  lot  of  hogs,  to  build  the  pens  that  hold  them. 

METHODS. 

Oar  method  is  to  do  the  work  amongst  ourselves,  with  ay 
little  hired  labor  as  possible.  We  never  attempt  to  raise  any 
more  of  any  one  product  than  we  can  properly  handle  and  save 
without  waste.  If  we  make  more  of  a  specialty  of  one  crop 
than  any  other,  it  is  wheat.  We  make  it  a  rule  to  hurry  our 
work,  but  never  allow  our  work  to  hurry  us.  I  have  never  yet 
found  any  thing  that  would  pay  if  turned  off  in  a  slovenly 
fashion.  What  is  worth  doing  is  always  worth  doing  well.  I 
never  venture  into  wild  speculations.  When  I  find  that  any 
particular  crop  will  not  pay  expenses,  I  drop  it.  I  have  never- 
adopted  a  rotation  of  crops  yet,  but  think  I  will  after  the  soil 


308  LABETTE  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

begins  to  decline.  At  present  the  soil  is  so  fertile  and  inexhaus- 
tive  that  wheat  crops  do  better  to  follow  each  other. 

WHEAT, 

which  is  three-fourths  of  my  crop,  requires  that  the  ground  be 
plowed  early  and  become  well  packed  before  seeding  time. 
I  sow  early,  and  have  the  ground  well  drained ;  also  harvest 
and  get  into  stack  and  granary  in  due  time.  I  never  sell  until 
the  prices  will  justify  me  in  so  doing,  even  if  the  wheat  should 
have  to  be  held  over  till  the  next  Spring.  The  same  process 
and  plans  I  adopt  in  the  raising  of  any  other  grain.  I  never 
speculate  upon  other  men's  money,  never  buy  unless  I  have 
the  money  to  pay  with.  I  shun  debts  as  much  as  one  would 
the  leprosy.  What  I  have  not  the  cash  to  buy  with,  I  do  with- 
out. When  I  have  the  means,  I  do  not  spare  the  cost  in  hav- 
ing good  tools,  machinery,  seed  and  stock.  As  there  is  much 
money  invested  in  farm  tools  and  machinery,  I  find  that  there 
is  much  money  saved  by  storing  them  away  in  the  dry  as  soon 
as  done  using  them.  I  appreciate  the  saying  as  a  very  truthful 
one,  that  "  a  penny  saved  is  two  pennies  earned." 

CONCLUSION. 

The  reasons  why  I  am  disposed  to  call  this  farm  a  model 
one,  are, 

First:  Situation.  It  lies  midway  between  two  rival -towns 
on  the  Missouri,  Kansas  &  Texas  railway,  four  miles  from  each. 
These  towns  contain  over  2,000  inhabitants  each,  and  are  in 
the  heart  of  Neosho  Valley. 

Second :  What  I  have,  I  have  made  myself,  and  that  on 
the  farm,  by  hard  labor,  perseverance  and  economy. 

Third  :  What  I  have  is  paid  for  ;  paid  from  the  products 
raised  on  the  farm,  and  those  products  raised  by  my  own  labor 
and  the  labor  of  my  family. 

Fourth:  There  is  no  mortgage  upon  the  farm.  That 
alone  should  make  it  a  Model  Farm,  in  this  day,  when  nine- 
teen-twentieths  of  the  farms  in  the  country  have  this  curse 
upon  them. 

Fifth:     My  farm  has  always  paid  a  good  income  above 


PLAN  OF  FARM. 


309 


all  expenses,  even  at  times  when  we  had   to  battle   against 
drouth,  chinch-bugs  and  grasshoppers. 

AXIOM. 

What  I  have  done  in  ten  short  years,  any  young  man 
with  a  family,  who  is  nothing  more  than  a  poor  tenant  in 
some  of  the  Northern  or  Eastern  States,  can  come  and  do 

likewise. 

NORTH 


SHADY  SIDE. 

EXPLANATION.  —  Scale,  80  rods  to  the  inch.  1 — Yard  and  dwelling. 
7 — Barn  and  barnyard.  2 — Garden.  3— Cultivated  lands,  mostly  in  wheat. 
4 — Pasture.  5 — Meadow.  6  8 — Lots  for  young  stock,  a — Three  acres  ceme- 
tery, b — Two  acres  school-house,  c  c  c — Artificial  ponds.  Public 

roads.      Hedges,  Osage    orange.      Q  °  Q  —  Wells,     v*  —  Orchards. 

x^rk^.  Deep  sloughs,  from  four  to  eight  rods  wide,  and  about  ten  feet  lower 
than  the  level  of  the  prairie.    Remainder  of  the  land  level. 


310  MARSHALL  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

J.  L.  HODGES, 

FRANKFORT,  MARSHALL  COUNTY. 

How  to  Plant  and   Trim   Osage  Hedge  —  How   to    Arrange   a 
Raw  Prairie  Farm  —  Winter  Wheat  Culture. 

I  own  a  half  section  of  land  lying  half  a  mile  directly 
north  of  the  city  of  Frankfort.  I  took  possession  of  the  land 
on  the  6th  day  of  June,  1872.  It  was  raw  upland  prairie ;  it 
lies  in  the  form  of  the  diagram,  all  under  cultivation  except 
the  two  forties  on  the  creek,  which  are  prairie  grass  and  native 
timber. 

HEDGE. 

I  have  hedge  fence  at  every  place  seen  on  accompany- 
ing drawing,  planted  four  years  ago  last  April.  Plants  were 
put  out  two  years  old  and  cultivated  two  years,  then  cut 
off  to  the  ground,  cultivated  one  year  and  then  braided 
close  to  the  ground,  and  grown  again  one  year.  I  then 
cut  them  off  two  and  and  one-half  feet  from  the  ground  and 
laid  the  brush  lengthwise  of  the  fence.  As  far  as  I  have  fin- 
ished it  I  have  a  fence  that  will  stop  pigs,  chickens,  or  stock  of 
any  kind.  I  intend  to  cut  once  more  at  four  feet  high,  and 
lay  the  brush  the  same,  then  let  it  grow  fora  windbreak,  except 
along  the  road  ;  there  shall  keep  trimmed. 

ORCHARD. 

I  have  an  apple  orchard  of  three  hundred  trees  planted 
six  years  ago  last  Spring,  two  and  three  year  old  trees.  They 
have  grown  well.  These  bore  some  apples  a  year  ago,  but  last 
Summer  they  did  not  blossom.  I  have  manured  every  year 
and  cultivated  the  orchard  in  corn ;  it  is  now  in  Fall  wheat 
and  looks  nicely.  I  shall  seed  it  with  clover  in  March. 

BUILDINGS  AND  GROUNDS. 

I  have  a  small  plot  of  ground  around  my  house,  seeded  to 


FARM   AND  BUILDINGS. 
Ed 


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312  MARSHALL  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

red  clover.  It  has  been  seeded  five  3~ears  and  I  never  saw 
clover  do  better  any  where.  I  think  if  we  put  clover  on  our 
land  we  can  not  kill  it  by  any  fair  means.  My  house  is  a  one 
and  a  half  story  frame,  upright  14x28,  standing  with  the  end 
to  the  road,  and  has  south  front  and  porch  fronting  the  flower 
gardens.  It  has  a  wing  20x22  on  the  north  side,  with  an  east 
front  and  porch  fronting  the  road,  with  a  cistern  under  this 
porch,  that  holds  two  hundred  barrels,  and  a  pump  standing  in 
the  porch;  also  a  west  kitchen  front  leading  to  the  well  and 
barn.  The  house  stands  about  the  center  of  the  plot,  which  is 
planted  with  all  kinds  of  trees — maples,  black  walnut,  ever- 
greens, on  the  east,  peaches  on  the  west,  plums,  cherries,  pears, 
on  the  south.  On  the  north  is  a  driveway  between  the  veget- 
able garden  and  dooryard  leading  to  the  granary,  barnyards 
and  orchard.  A  plot  of  one-quarter  of  an  acre  on  the  south 
of  dooryard,  contains  flowers,  strawberries,  raspberries,  black- 
berries, grapes,  quinces,  crab  apples,  peaches,  and  other  fruits. 
I  have  a  plot  of  one-quarter  of  an  acre  on  north  of  driveway, 
lying  between  the  driveway  and  orchard  for  a  garden,  with 
fruit  trees  next  the  road.  West  of  the  vegetable  garden  is  a 
lawn  of  three-fourths  of  an  acre,  and  south  of  lawn  is  one- 
fourth  of  an  acre  with  granary  in  the  center,  26x44,  making 
granary,  carriage-house  and  tool-house,  leaving  a  driveway  clear 
around  it,  leading  to  both  }-arcls  and  to  the  barn  also,  through 
the  lawn  to  the  orchard.  The  barn  is  40x50,  facing  north  and 
south,  between  the  two  yards.  This  is  designed  for  a  general 
farm  and  grain  barn,  with  sixteen  feet  in  width  taken  off  the 
east  end  fronting  the  granary  lot  for  horse  stables,  with  a  hay -loft 
over  the  horses.  My  north  barnyard  is  one  and  a  quarter  acres 
and  the  south  one  is  two  and  a  half  acres,  with  posts  set  seven 
feet  apart  and  three  boards  at  the  bottom ;  then  comes  a  gal- 
vanized barb  wire,  next  a  plain  barb  wire.  The  same  fence 
is  around  the  hog  lot  except  the  roadside,  which  is  hedge,  and 
which  holds  pigs  or  any  other  stock. 

I  have  given  a  fair  description  of  my  small  yards.  I 
will  describe  my  fields  and  mode  of  cultivation.  I  Summer 
fallowed  my  first  field  last  Summer  and  shall  sow  the  same  to 


ROTATION  OF  CROPS  — STOCK.  313 

clover.     I  designate  the  fields  by  numbers,  as  will  be  seen  by 
the  diagram. 

ROTATION  OF  CROPS. 

Number  one  is  my  oldest  field.  I  Summer  fallowed  that 
in  the  Summer  and  sowed  it  to  Fall  wheat,  and  will  seed  it  to 
clover  in  the  Spring.  The  following  season  I  will  mow  in 
June  for  hay,  and  then  cut  again  in  the  Fall  for  seed,  and 
pasture  the  next  season.  The  following  season  I  will  plow 
the  clover  sod  for  corn,  and  the  next  plow  the  corn  stubble  for 
oats  and  barley  in  the  Spring,  or  make  it  fallow  again  for 
wheat.  My  plan  is  to  have  a  rotation  of  crops.  My  main  crop 
is  Fall  wheat ;  I  intend  to  have  two  of  these  forties  in 
Fall  wheat  every  year,  one  in  corn,  two  in  clover,  or  clover, 
oats  and  barley,  and  my  small  fifteen  acre  I  will  use  as  occa- 
sion requires.  I  shall  have  to  vary  some,  possibly,  but  will 
always  keep  two  forty  acre  lots  in  Fall  wheat,  and  one  in  corn. 

STOCK. 

I  commenced  the  improvement  of  this  farm  as  follows :  I 
built  the  house,  and  then  I  had  the  county  surveyor  lay  it  out 
correctly  as  it  is  seen  on  the  plot.  Next  I  broke  the  bounds 
for  all  the  hedges,  and  then  went  to  work  and  made  the  farm 
as  fast  as  I  could.  I  keep  about  two  hundred  sheep,  twenty 
head  of  cattle,  fifty  hogs,  and  ten  to  fifteen  horses,  mules,  and 
colts.  I  have  on  the  farm  two  good  three-horse  teams,  and 
two  good  two-horse  teams,  and  two  or  four  colts  growing  all 
the  time  to  keep  these  teams  good.  My  farm  has  no  stone  or 
obstructions  of  any  kind.  I  have  raised  over  8,000  bushels  of 
Fall  wheat  since  I  commenced. 

I  was  born  in  New  York  State,  near  the  city  of  Rochester, 
Monroe  county,  in  1820,  and  lived  there  and  in  Genessee  county 
until  I  came  to  Kansas  seven  years  ago.  I  think  I  know  what 
good  farming  is,  and  hope  to  live  to  see  this  State  put  under 
good  cultivation,  and  then  I  believe  we  will  have  the  best  State 
in  the  Union. 


314  BUTLER  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

F.  A.  FENTON, 

INDIAN  OLA,  BUTLER   COUNTY. 

A  Dairy  Farm — How  to  Keep  Pastures  Fresh  and  G-reen — Butter 
— Rearing  of  Calves — Hogs — Millet — Climate. 

My  farm  consists  of  205  acres  of  bottom  and  upland  prairie. 
One  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  this  tire  under  cultivation,  the 
remainder  is  in  prairie  pastures.  The  farm  implements  used  are 
John  Deere  sulky  plow,  Gilpin,  (very  good  plow,  by  the  way,) 
also  a  very  good  harrow  (no  name).  This  last  implement  is  so 
constructed  that  you  hitch  to  one  end  and  the  teeth  will  be 
straight ;  by  changing  and  hitching  to  the  other  end  the  teeth 
slant,  thus  making  an  excellent  harrow  for  harrowing  corn 

*  o  o 

while  young.  I  use  the  Peru  City  corn  cultivators,  and  they 
have  proved  the  best  with  us.  Keystone  corn  planters  give 
the  best  satisfaction  here.  I  can  claim  no  precedence  in  rais- 
ing corn  or  oats,  although  they  have  been  raised  at  an  average 
cost  in  crib  and  granary  of  fifteen  cents  per  bushel  for  corn, 
and  eighteen  cents  per  bushel  for  oats.  All  grain  produced  and 
much  more  bought,  is  fed  to  milch  cows  and  made  into  butter. 
I  keep  twenty-three  cows,  mostly  grade  Durhams,  and  a  few 
grade  Devons.  Both  I  find  very  good  for  dairy  purposes,  and 
they  also  make  good  beef. 

PASTURE. 

Prairie  pasture  in  Kansas  makes  good  beef  for  market,  and 
cows  yield  an  abundance  of  most  excellent  milk.  The  pasture 
may  be  kept  up  until  late  in  the  season  by  burning  off  a  fresh 
piece-  of  ground  (prairie  sod)  every  few  weeks  during  the 
Summer.  Finally,  when  prairie  pasture  fails,  you  must  be  pre- 
pared with  some  green  crop  to  take  the  place  of  green  grass. 
Corn  sown  broadcast,  or,  better,  drilled,  from  about  the  middle 
to  the  last  of  June,  makes  an  excellent  crop  for  this  purpose, 


DAIRY.  315 

and  should  be  fed  freely,  always  remembering  that  the  more 
you  can  get  a  cow  to  eat  the  more  milk  you  will  get  in  return. 
Rye  is  sown  about  September  1st;  if  sown  earlier  it  is  killed 
by  chinch  bugs.  It  does  not  generally  make  very  good  pasture 
in  the  Fall,  but  in  the  Spring  we  get  six  weeks  of  fine  pasture 
before  the  grass  comes. 

DAIRY. 

When  green  feed  fails  I  feed  grain.  Corn  and  oats  I  mix 
half  and  half,  and  grind  on  the  farm  by  one  of  the  Challenge 
mills.  This  I  feed  in  proportion  to  ten  quarts  per  day  to  each 
cow,  changing  occasionally  to  corn  meal,  and  bran,  and  shorts. 
Those  who  have  never  fed  corn  meal  I  would  advise  to  try  it, 
if  they  want  good,  rich  milk,  and  desire  to  have  their  stock  kept 
in  good  order.  I  would  urge  all  persons  keeping  stock,  and 
especially  those  keeping  milk  stock,  to  care  for  them  well  if 
they  want  to  make  them  profitable.  Keep  them  well  in  Winter, 
and  see  what  a  vast  difference  in  the  returns  of  the  next 
Summer.  My  milking,  feeding,  etc.,  is  done  as  regularly  as 
possible.  My  cows  are  all  stabled  in  Winter.  My  milk  I  have 
set  in  open  pans,  and  allowed  to  stand  from  thirty-six  to  forty- 
eight  hours  before  skimming;  it  is  then  soured  a  little  before 
churning,  and  churned  in  a  Blanchard  churn  at  a  temperature 
of  fifty  eight  degrees  in  Summer,  and  sixty-two  degrees  in 
Winter.  If  every  condition  is  right,  butter  should  come  in 
about  forty  minutes.  As  soon  as  it  comes,  the  buttermilk 
should  be  drawn  off  carefully,  and  cold,  clear  water  dashed  on  to 
the  butter ;  then  remove  it  to  the  butter  worker,  after  being 
properly  gathered.  Then  we  put  on  more  water,  until  the 
water,  when  drawn  off,  is  clear.  After  that,  work  the  water 
out  (with  a  Reed's  butter- worker),  and  salt  with  three-quar- 
ters of  an  ounce  of  dairy  salt  to  a  pound,  if  for  present  use, 
letting  it  stand  two  or  three  hours,  then  working  again.  If  the 
butter  is  to  be  kept  any  length  of  time,  it  is  better  to  allow  one 
ounce  of  salt  to  the  pound,  and  let  it  stand  about  twelve  hours 
before  working,  after  which  pack  in  nice  clean  packages  and 
cover  with  strong  brine.  My  butter  is  all  put  up  in  small  pack- 
ages, from  four  to  sixteen  pounds  in  each  package,  and  delivered 


316  .        BUTLER  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

to  private  families  in  Wichita,  at  an  average  price  of  twenty- 
three  cents  per  pound. 

RAISING  CALVES. 

My  plan  of  raising  calves  is  to  take  them  away  from  the 
cow  as  soon  as  dropped,  and  put  them  in  a  small  stall  for  a 
time,  giving  them  the  mother's  milk  at  first,  and  gradually 
substituting  skimmed  milk,  with  a  very  little  flaxseed  ground 
and  boiled  into  a  jelly  added.  Give  them  your  finger  at  first, 
but  withdraw  it  gradually  as  soon  as  they  begin  to  suck.  By 
this  means  in  from  one  to  three  days  you  will  have  them  drink- 
ing nicely.  I  let  them  have  access  to  hay  whenever  they  want 
it,  and  they  commence  eating  pretty  early,  too.  In  a  few 
weeks  I  give  them  a  little  corn  meal,  gradually  increasing  the 
feed  as  they  get  older.  In  this  way  very  good  calves  can  be 
raised  cheaply,  without  new  milk. 

HOGS. 

I  very  much  prefer  the  pure  Poland  China  swine  to  all 
others,  and  have  had  them  dress  800  pounds  the  day  they  were 
eight  months  old.  I  have  sold  them  on  the  market  at  just  six 
months,  when  they  would  average  220  pounds.  I  have  them 
pig  about  April  1st  and  September  1st,  and  give  them  plenty 
of  good  slop.  As  this  breed  is  of  a  contented  disposition,  they 
will  eat,  lie  down,  and  grow  fat.  I  had  one  sow  that  I  let  run, 
and  she  never  strayed  200  feet  from  the  pen.  I  wean  them  at 
about  six  weeks,  and  give  them  the  best  care  so  that  they  may 
not  have  a  set-back.  A  little  linseed  jelly  in  their  slop  about 
this  time  is  excellent.  The  way  to  make  hogs  pay  is  to  get 
them  into  market  at  eight  to  ten  months  old. 

Millet  grows  finely  here,  and  large  quantities  are  raised 
for  feeding  stock  and  for  seed.  It  sometimes  yields  five  and 
six  tons  of  splendid  hay  per  acre,  but  is  very  hard  on  land. 
There  are  no  tame  meadows  to  speak  of  in  this-  country,  as  yet. 
We  are  comparatively  new,  as  it  is  only  eleven  years  since  the 
Indians  were  here. 

CLIMATE. 

Our  climate  is  very  healthy. .   There  is  a  dry  atmosphere 


CLIMATE.  317 

very  beneficial  to  lung  complaints.  We  have  few  fogs  or  rainy 
days ;  showers  come  and  go,  and  the  sun  is  soon  out  once  more. 
Land  is  generally  good,  and  the  bottoms  are  hard  to  beat  for 
fertility.  There  is  very  little  need  of  draining. 

This  is  an  excellent  country  for  an  industrious  man  to 
come  to.  If  he  has  a  little  means  he  can  secure  a  home  for 
himself  and  family  cheaply.  If  he  has  no  means  he  can  rent 
good  land  by  giving  one-third  of  the  corn  in  crib,  and  one-third 
small  grain  in  the  bushel.  It  is  no  place  for  a  lazy  man  ;  in 
fact,  there  are  too  many  of  that  kind  here  now.  And  the  man 
who  is  well  fixed  in  the  East  had  better  stay  there  and  not 
change. 

C.  B.  SPAULDING, 

HILLSDALE,   MIAMI  COUNTY. 

The  Culture  of  Corn  and  Winter  Wheat —  Graded  Durhams  — 
The  Poland  China  and  Berkshire  Cross  Recommended — Best 
Time  to  Breed  Sows  and  What  to  Feed  —  Meadows  —  Dairy 
—  Poultry  —  Fruit. 

I  emigrated  to  Kansas  in  1859,  at  a  time  when  the  country 
was  sparsely  settled,  and  located  in  1862,  on  eighty  acres  of  land 
in  Miami  county,  which  have  ever  since  been  my  home.  The 
improvement  of  my  land,  and  how  I  could  best  accomplish  the 
desired  results  with  my  limited  means,  have  occupied  a  large 
degree  of  my  attention.  As  I  am  not  of  a  very  "  shifty  "  turn  of 
mind,  that  is,  not  given  to  much  traffic,  like  money  in  a  new 
country,  my  experience  and  success  have  been  through  a  steady 
and  unrelenting  tilling  of  the  soil.  My  farming  operations  have 
been  a  mixed  husbandry,  which  I  believe  to  be  the  best  course 
for  a  small  farmer  to  pursue  (a  course,  too,  that  larger  ones 
would  do  well  to  follow).  Every  farmer  should  make  his  farm 
self-sustaining,  compelling  it  to  produce  as  nearly  as  possible 
all  that  is  needed  for  home  consumption. 

MACHINERY. 

I  have  invested  in  machinery  and  implements  that  would 


318  MIAMI   COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

insure  ray  crops  being  attended  to  in  proper  time,  as  the  farmer 
often  sustains  great  loss  by  not  having  the  requisite  machinery 
at  his  command.  My  farm  implements  and  machinery  are  as 
follows:  Furst  &  Bradley  iron  beam  plow  with  Cahill  riding 
attachment,  Brown's  corn  planter,  Imperial  Riding  Cultivator 
(in  use  four  years),  Old  Buckeye  wheat  drill  (in  use  eight 
years),  Improved  Climax  reaper  and  mower  combined  (in  use 
five  seasons),  Spiral  stalk  cutter,  Burell  corn  sheller,  fan  mill 
(seven  years  in  use),  Big  Giant  corn  and  cob  crusher,  and 
other  implements  to  meet  my  wants.  Some  of  my  machinery 
has  been  in  use  quite  a  time  but  it  is  to-day  nearly  as  good 
as  when  bought.  I  have  managed  it  upon  the  idea  that  if  it 
pays  to  buy  an  implement,  it  pays  equally  well  to  house  and 
care  for  it  when  not  in  use. 

CORN. 

My  farm  is  upland  prairie,  high  elevation.  Much  of  it  is 
rolling,  consequently  must  be  strongly  tested  by  drouth  in  a 
dry  season.  It  is  my  custom  to  turn  under  the  stalks  and 
what  vegetation  may  accumulate,  together  with  the  manure 
made  at  the  outbuildings,  believing  it  will  return  good  interest 
in  the  half  bushel.  I  plow  as  much  as  possible  in  the  Fall,  and 
deep ;  if  not  in  the  Fall  early  in  the  Spring,  so  that  my  corn 
may  be  planted  in  good  time.  I  prefer  to  plant  in  April  if  the 
ground  is  dry,  even  though  it  be  cold.  My  experience  and 
observation  have  taught  me  that  corn  planted  early  (condition 
of  the  ground  being  favorable)  produces  a  larger  yield.  I 
"  tend  it "  exclusively  with  the  cultivator,  unless  it  continues 
dry  after  it  comes  up,  in  which  case  I  run  over  it  with  a  roller. 
My  corn  crop  on  a  yearly  average  amounts  to  about  thirty  acres, 
with  an  average  for  this  year  of  forty  bushels  per  acre,  which 
is  raised  at  a  cost  of  ten  cents  per  bushel.  I  crib  early,  in  well- 
covered  cribs,  and  convert  it  into  pork,  believing  that  if  I  do 
not  realize  more  for  it,  it  is  a  much  easier  way  of  getting  it  to 
market.  I  believe,  however,  that  I  get  better  returns  for  my 
corn  in  pork  than  in  its  natural  state. 

WHEAT. 

With  reference  to  wheat,  I  have  sown  it  every  year  since 


WHEAT  — MEADOW  LAND.  319 

living  here,  and  I  have  had  very  good  success  with  it,  seeding 
about  twenty  acres  a  year,  and  realized  for  several  years  past 
about  twenty  bushels  per  acre.  My  plan  of  culture  is  to  spare 
no  pains  in  preparing  the  soil.  If  I  can  break  the  ground  soon 
enough,  that  I  may  have  time  to  pack  ifc  well  by  rolling  and 
harrowing,  I  break  it  tolerably  deep;  otherwise  I  plow  shallow. 
In  this  case  I  completely  pulverize  the  soil  to  the  depth  of 
three  inches,  so  that  the  seed  may  have  a  good  bed  to  germinate 
in.  Sow  with  drill  from  the  first  to  the  fifteenth  of  September, 
with  one  bushel  of  seed  to  the  acre.  If  flies  are  working  much, 
I  defer  seeding  to  the  last  of  September  or  the  first  of  October, 
in  which  case  it  will  be  necessary  to  seed  a  little  heavier.  I  do 
not  pasture  my  wheat  in  the  Winter.  I  harvest  my  Winter 
wheat  when  the  grain  has  reached  the  hard  dough.  I  am 
particular  to  put  it  into  the  stack  as  soon  as  it  is  fairly  cured  in 
the  shock.  I  have  never  sustained  any  loss  from  damaged 
wheat  in  the  stack,  and  do  not  expect  to,  as  long  as  I  do  my 
own  stacking.  The  cost  of  raising  and  putting  into  the  half 
bushel,  without  counting  the  board  of  hands  and  feeding  teams, 
is  thirty-seven  cents  per  bushel,  at  twenty  bushels  per  acre.  I 
sell  my  wheat  at  the  home  mill.  I  consider  a  light  dressing 
of  manure  on  wheat  land  -very  remunerative.  I  raise  but  little 
rye  and  oats,  and  no  barley.  • 

MY  EXPERIENCE  WITH  MEADOW  LAND 

is,  that  timothy  alone  needs  to  be  rebroken  and  seeded  about 
every  three  years,  but  if  mixed  with  clover  it  will  last  much 
longer.  I  pasture  my  meadow  Fall  and  Winter,  except  when 
the  ground  is  wet  and  miry.  .  I  believe  it  better  to  pasture  but 
little  in  the  Spring.  I  am  using  both  clover  and  timothy  on 
pasture  laud. 

CATTLE. 

I  breed  the  common  natives,  crossed  with  Durham.  They 
produce  a  cross  which  I  consider  well  suited  to  beef  and  dairy 
purposes. 

HORSES. 

I  am  breeding  my  mares  to  Norman  horses,  as  I  believe 
they  will  produce  the  best  stock  of  horses  for  general  farm  use. 


320  MIAMI  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

I  believe  in,  and  act  on  the  principle,  that  all  stock  requires 
the  attention  of  the  farmer  in  sheltering  them  from  the  inclem- 
ent weather. 

HOGS. 

For  the  last  five  years  I  have  given  my  attention  to  the 
pure  Berkshire  breed,  believing  them  to  be  hardy  and  prolific, 
maturing  early,  with  a  comparatively  small  amount  of  feed. 
I  believed  them  to  be  the  hog  for  Kansas,  but  observation  and 
the  past  year's  experience  have  convinced  me  that  a  cross 
between  the  Poland  and  Berkshire  produce  a  better  and  more 
desirable  hog.  They  are  more  quiet  in  their  habits,  grow  more 
uniform  in  size,  and  make  larger  hogs,  with  a  like  amount  of 
care  and  feed  in  the  same  length  of  time,  than  the  Berk- 
shire. My  plan  is  to  use  the  pure  Berkshire  sow,  and  a  well 
bred  Poland  boar.  As  the  Berkshire  sows  are  less  in  size,  and 
more  prolific,  consequently  they  make  better  mothers  and  are 
more  certain  to  raise  their  young.  I  think  it  best,  when  a  sow 
has  proven  herself  good  as  a  breeder,  to  keep  her  for  years,  as  her 
pigs  will  be  likely  to  be  more  hardy  and  less  subject  to  disease. 
Do  not  let  the  pigs  come  until  late  enough  in  the  Spring,  that 
the  sows  may  be  able  to  soon  get  grass  after  farrowing.  As 
soon  as  the  pigs  are  old  enough,  or  manifest  a  desire  to  eat  in 
the  trough  with  the  sow,  I  arrange  a  little  apartment  where 
they  can  be  by  themselves,  and  there  feed  ground  feed. 

MY  SOWS  GRAZE  UPON  CLOVER  AND  TIMOTHY.' 
I  favor  the  plan  of  allowing  sows  to  bring  but  one  litter  of 
pigs  a  year,  as  Fall  pigs  often  get  stunted,  and  then  the  farmer 
can  not  save  himself  in  preparing  them  for  market.  I  use  feed 
ground  with  the  Big  Giant  crusher  ;  think  it  pays  to  keep  pigs 
thriving  and  fat  till  they  are  ready  for  market.  I  attend  to 
keeping  them  well  sheltered,  so  that  they  may  have  a  warm 
and  cosy  place  to  sleep,  with  plenty  of  salt  and  ashes  ;  also 
good  water  to  drink  and,  if  possible,  to  wallow  in.  I  feed  my 
fat  hogs  as  much  as  possible  on  plank  floor.  I  believe  it  will 
pay  twice  over  the  expense.  Fed  in  this  way  they  will  take 
less  dirt  into  the  stomach.  A  hog  is  a  clean  animal  if  we  only 
give  him  a  chance  to  be,  and  cleanliness  is  one  of  the  essential 


PLAN  OF  HOG  PEN. 


821 


requisites  to  health.  I  have  this  year  allowed  my  sows  to  have 
but  one  litter,  all  running  together  until  the  pigs  wean  them- 
selves, feeding  ground  feed  all  the  time. 


SWINGING  GATE  OR  END  OF  PEN. 


TBOUG  H. 


ft  •* 

5  " 

•<!  oo 
§ 


GROUND  PLAN  OF  HOG  PEN. 

The  swinging  end,  suspended  on  the  posts,  forms  the  end 
of  the  pen  when  hanging  perpendicular  ;  and,  on  feeding  hogs, 
it  is  swung  in  till  it  strikes  the  inner  side  of  the  trough,  and  is 
there  held  by  some  simple  fastening,  such  as  a  pin  or  latch. 
After  the  trough  is  cleaned,  if  necessary,  and  the  feed  poured 
in,  the  end  is  allowed  to  come  back  to  its  perpendicular  position. 
Then  the  stock  has  free  access  to  their  feed.  This  will  save 
much  trouble  while  feeding. 


21 


322 


MIAMI  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 


Air  space  around  creamery  room,  1  foot  wide. 


Slat  window. 


Creamery  room,  6x6. 


Window. 


Door. 


End  view  of  Creamery.     Outside,  8  feet. 


The  above  is  the  plan  of  ray  Creamery.  I  have  only  given  a 
view  of  the  entrance  end,  which  should  be  toward  the  north. 
The  opposite  end  is  designed  to  have  the  air  space  round  the 
creamery  room.  A  window  should  open  into  the  space  at  that 


DAIRY—  POULTRY—  FRUIT.  323 

end.  The  spaces  at  the  side  might  be  wide  enough  to  receive 
a  barrel  of  salt,  or  other  dairy  fixtures.  Access  to  them  would 
then  be  by  way  of  doors.  This  building  will  keep  milk  cooler 
in  Summer  than  any  other  arrangement,  without  it  is  in  some 
way  connected  with  an  ice  house. 

DAIRY. 

With  butter  we  have  the  best  results  from  tame  grass  pas- 
ture. Our  milkers  are  grades  (Durham  cross)  and  natives; 
they  give  satisfaction.  As  there  are  two  cheese  factories  in 
this  county,  at  times  the  supply  of  butter  is  inadequate  to  the 
home  demand. 

POULTRY. 

I  succeed  best  with  a  mixed  breed  of  fowls.  The  White 
Brahmas  and  Black  Spanish  suit  me  best.  They  are  hardy, 
good  layers,  and  their  flesh  is  good  for  table  use.  I  am  not 
troubled  with  cholera  among  my  chickens.  I  part  with  the 
old  hens  in  the  Fall,  and  change  the  roosters.  By  so  doing 
we  keep  the  stock  healthy.  The  fowls  have  free  access  to  the 
corn  crib,  and  occasionally  my  wife  feeds  them  sulphur  and 
black  pepper  mixed  in  ground  feed.  They  have  well-sheltered 

roosts. 

FRUIT. 

I  have  three  hundred  apple  trees  ;  also  a  number  of  peachy 
cherry,  and  pear  trees,  with  grape  and  other  small  fruits.  My 
orchard  was  planted  in  1862,  and  has  been  attended  with  much! 
care  and  labor.  Notwithstanding  the  amount  of  care  I  have 
given  it,  the  borer  has  been  very  destructive  to  many  of  the 
trees.  There  is  no  remedy  as  effectual  as  the  knife  and  wire.  I 
cultivated  the  orchard  in  small  grains  and  potatoes  till  the  trees 
were  too  large  to  plow  among,  and  then  seeded  down  to  clover, 
upon  which  I  pastured  my  hogs,  a  course  which  I  found  very  bene- 
ficial to  the  trees.  I  have  also  followed  the  plan  of  mulching 
the  trees  every  two  or  three  years,  with  good  results.  It  adds 
size  and  beauty  to  the  fruit.  I  do  most  of  my  pruning  in  Feb- 
ruary. The  fruit  finds  a  home  market.  Varieties  that  have 
proved  worthless,  I  top  graft  in  the  Spring  as  soon  as  the 


324  ANDERSON  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

begins  to  flow  freely,  using  a  wax  composed  of  four  parts 
resin,  two  parts  beeswax,,  and  one  part  tallow,  well  mixed 
together. 

HISTORICAL  AND  STATISTICAL. 

As  a  farming  country,  and  healthy  climate,  Miami  county 
is  as  good  as  any  in  the  State.  This  county  is  second,  in  the 
eastern  tier  of  counties  south  of  Kansas  City.  Paoli  is  the 
county-seat,  on  the  Kansas  City,  Ft.  Scott  &  Gulf  railroad, 
forty-two  miles  from  Kansas  City.  The  population  of  the  city 
of  Paoli  is  1,974;  the  population  of  the  county  is  16,000.  Of 
bottom  land  there  is  twenty  per  cent.,  upland  seventy  per  cent., 
timber  ten  per  cent.  Of  the  376,320  acres  in  the  county,  155,- 
872  acres  are  under  cultivation.  There  is  a  high  and  normal 
school  in  Paoli,  ninety-six  school  districts  in  the  county,  and 
thirty-six  churches.  The  Kansas  City,  Ft.  Scott  &  Gulf  rail- 
road runs  north  and  south  through  the  county.  The  Paoli  & 
Holden  road  runs  from  Holden,  Mo.,  on  the  Missouri  Pacific 
to  Paoli,  and  the  St.  Louis,  Kansas  &  Arizona  railroad  runs 
from  Paoli  southwest  through  the  county  to  Garnett.  The 
total  valuation  of  all  property  in  the  county  is  17,000,000.  It 
is  healthy  and  well  watered,  and  as  an  agricultural  and  stock 
raising  country,  is  conceded  to  be  the  empire  county  of  the 
State. 


ALBERT  MOLER. 

MINERAL  POINT,   ANDERSON   COUNTY. 

A  Stock  Farm  —  Three  Hundred  Acres  in  Corn  —  High  Grade 
Cattle  the  Most  Profitable —  Good  Shelter  but  not  Confinement 
Recommended — Kentucky  Blue  Grass  a  Success. 

My  farm  is  situated  in  the  northwest  corner  of  Anderson 
county,  and  on  the  head  waters  of  Pottawattomie  creek, 
two  of  its  branches  running  through  the  farm,  which,  with  one 
artificial  pond,  gives  us  water  in  every  field.  The  farm  con- 
sists of  six  hundred  and  forty  acres,  of  which  five  hundred  and 


CORN   AND   WHEAT.  325 

fifty  were  originally  prairie,  remainder  timber.  There  are  four 
hundred  acres  now  in  cultivation ;  remainder,  including  the 
timber,  in  meadow  and  pasture. 

Usually  I  raise  three  hundred  acres  of  corn,  and  fifty  acres 
of  oats  and  Hungarian  grass,  and  twenty  acres  of  Winter 
wheat,  which  produces  twenty  bushels  per  acre.  The  corn 
crop  of  1879  was  a  fair  yield,  averaging  fifty-five  bushels  per 
acre.  My  mowing  land  produces  two  tons  per  acre.  I  am 
much  pleased  with  my  Blue  Grass  pasture,  which  as  early  as 
November  comes  out  fresh  and  green. 

CORN  AND  WHEAT. 

I  commenced  on  this  farm  just  as  the  Indians  left  it  fifteen 
years  ago — plowing  the  fir&t  furrow.  The  first  season  I  broke 
one  hundred  and  fifty  acres  and  planted  it  in  sod  corn,  which 
made  about  thirty  bushels  to  the  acre,  and  was  worth  enough 
to  pay  for  breaking  the  land.  I  have  broken  more  or  less  ever 
since.  Sometimes  I  sow  Fall  wheat  on  the  freshly  broken  sod, 
which  generally  produces  from  twelve  to  fifteen  bushels  of 
good  wheat,  worth  about  as  many  dollars.  The  second  year  I 
cross-plow  the  last  year's  breaking,  and  plant  it  in  corn,  which, 
with  two  plo wings,  generally  produces  from  forty-five  to  sev- 
enty bushels  per  acre.  As  the  land  becomes  older  it  requires 
more  cultivation  to  keep  the  weeds  subdued.  After  cultivat- 
ing four  or  five  years,  I  sow  it  in  mixed  grasses — clover,  timo- 
thy, orchard  grass,  and  Kentucky  blue  grass.  The  last  named 
runs  all  the  others  out  in  about  four  years.  In  order  to  secure 
ourselves  against  prairie  fires,  I  broke  a  fence  row  all  around 
the  farm  about  a  rod  wide,  on  which  we  constructed'  a  fence 
three  boards  high,  and  then  fence  rows  across  the  farm,  leaving 
the  fields  as  large  as  possible.  The  following  Spring  I  planted 
Osage  orange  hedge  just  inside  the  board  fence,  which,  through 
reasonable  cultivation,  has,  in  about  five  years'  time,  enclosed 
the  farm  with  good  hedges  and  the  fields  also.  These  are 
one  corn-field  of  two  hundred  and  forty  acres,  one  of  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres,  two  of  eighty  acres,  one  of  forty  acres, 
and  several  of  ten  and  fifteen  acres.  The  board  fences  can  be 


326  ANDERSON   COUNTY,  KANSAS 

removed  in  about  five  years,  when  they  may  be  used  again  on 
other  land.  I  have  many  native  timber  posts  fifteen  years  in 
use,  that  are  sound  enough  to  last  several  years  yet. 

STOCK. 

My  stock  consists  usually  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  cattle, 
or  about  that  number.  Forty  of  them  are  thorough-bred  Short- 
Horns,  the  remainder  three-fourths  and  seven-eighths  blood 
Short-Horns.  The  steers  I  sell  at  three  and  a  half  years'  old, 
averaging  sixteen  hundred  pounds  each.  They  sell  from  sev- 
enty to  ninety  dollars  per  head,  at  home.  We  weigh  them  on 
our  own  scales.  The  thorough-bred  male  calves  sell  readily 
to  other  farmers,  at  from  one  hundred  to  two  hundred  a  head. 
Farmers  here  are  generally  discarding  their  common  cattle 
and  getting  the  Short-Horns,  that  will  weigh  nearly  one-third 
more  at  any  age  than  the  common  cattle.  A  few  years  ago 
I  stall-fed  a  lot  of  high  grades  and  a  lot  of  good  common 
cattle.  I  weighed  them  when  commencing  to  feed,  and  after 
feeding  six  months  I  weighed  again.  The  common  cattle  had 
gained  four  hundred  pounds  per  head,  the  grade  cattle  had 
gained  six  hundred  per  head,  a  difference  of  two  hundred 
pounds  in  favor  of  the  grades. 

HOGS. 

After  trying  several  breeds  of  hogs,  I  have  settled  down  on 
Poland  China  or  Magie.  They  are,  with  me,  entirely  free 
from  disease.  There  never  has  been  a  case  of  hog  cholera  in 
this  county,  or  this  part  of  the  State.  They  are  great  eaters 
and  growers,  and  at  fifteen  months'  old  will  average,  with 
plenty  of  feed,  about  four  hundred  pounds.  I  think  our  hogs 
do  best  to  have  all  the  grass  and  roots  they  can  eat,  in  a  large 
pasture  along  the  creek.  They  should  have  plenty  of  shade  in 
Summer,  and  a  good  dry  and  warm  place  to  sleep  in  in  Winter. 
I  do  not  spay  our  sows,  but  let  them  produce  two  or  three  lit- 
ters of  pigs,  and  then  fatten  them,  when  they  will  weigh  five 
hundred  pounds.  I  buy  a  boar  from  Iowa  or  Illinois,  about 
every  year. 

My  buildings   consist  of  a  large   stone  house  containing 


STOCK  FARM  MADE  IN  FIVE  YEARS.  327 

fifteen  rooms,  and  a  banked  barn  sixty  by  eighty,  originally 
intended  for  a  cattle  barn.  But  after  several  years'  experi- 
ence I  have  become  convinced  that  cattle  will  do  better,  in  the 
long  run,  when  not  confined  in  stables,  but  with  plenty  of  shed 
room  to  go  under  when  they  want  to.  I  am  sure  they  will  be 
healthier  and  longer  lived.  They  will  grow  faster  for  a  short 
time  if  kept  in  stables,  but  with  me  quick  growth  means  quick 
death. 


GEORGE  HAY, 

SENECA,  NEMAHA  COUNTY. 

A  Stock  Farm  Made  in  Five  Years  —  Arrangement  of  Yards 
and  Sheds  —  Feed  Hacks  and  Troughs  —  Poland  China  Hogs. 

STOCK  FARM  MADE  IN   FIVE  YEARS. 

While  I  do  not  claim  to  have  a  "  model  farm,"  yet  I  shall 
venture  to  give  a  brief  description  of  a  farm,  which,  I  may  say 
has  been  made  during  the  past  five  years,  by  persistent  industry 
and  effort,  and  with  very  limited  means,  and  I  propose  to  show 
what  may  be  done  with  a  raw  piece  of  prairie  by  a  vigorous 
application  of  method  and  muscle,  governed  by  an  experience  in 
farming  and  stock  raising,  reaching  through  about  twenty-five 
years,  and  a  cash  capital  not  exceeding  $6,000. 

BOUGHT  THE  LAND  IN   1873. 

I  came  to  this  county  in  the  Fall  of  1873,  with  the  inten- 
tion of  engaging  in  stock  raising.  Being  desirous  of  locating 
my  family  where  good  educational  facilities  existed,  I  purchased 
land  in-  close  proximity  to  Seneca,  a  flourishing  little  town, 
situated  on  the  St.  Joe  &  Denver  railroad,  for  which  I  paid 
$3,150  for  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  unimproved  prairie. 
In  the  following  Spring  I  commenced  the  work  of  improving 
the  tract. 

HOW   I  FENCED  THE  FARM. 

I  enclosed  the  land,  which  consisted  of  two  separate  tracts 
of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  each,  not  adjoining  each  other, 


328  NEMAHA  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

with  a  three  board  fence.  The  lumber  was  purchased  at 
wholesale  rates,  by  the  car  load,  at  the  rate  of  twenty-three 
dollars  per  thousand  feet.  The  posts  used  were  chiefly  burr- 
oak,  and  cost  from  ten  to  twelve  and  a  half  dollars  per  hundred. 
The  recent  introduction  of  barbed  wire  enables  the  new  settler 
now  to  build  a  fence,  more  durable,  and  more  cattle  proof,  with 
about  one-half  the  number  of  posts,  and  at  a  much  less 
expense  for  wire  than  for  lumber  purchased  in  this  portion  of 
the  West.  Speaking  of  fencing,  I  venture  the  remark  that 
the  Osage  orange  flourishes  so  well  here,  that  farmers  who 
neglect  to  set  out  hedge  at  the  earliest  opportunity,  make  a 
very  great  mistake.  They  can  in  four  years  after  setting  the 
plants  have  a  fence  that  will  not  drop  down,  and  which  can  be 
made  a  complete  protection  against  the  depredations  of  either 
hogs  or  horses. 

ARRANGEMENT  OF  YARDS,  SHEDS  AND  RACKS. 

As  it  was  my  intention  to  devote  myself,  almost  exclu- 
sively, to  the  raising  of  cattle  and  hogs,  I  reserved  a  very  liberal 
portion  of  my  land  to  stock  yards,  and  feed  lots,  with  suitable 
pasture  for  colts,  calves  and  hogs.  My  cattle  yards  are  made 
on  grounds  sloping  gently  to  the  south.  I  have  the  necessary 
amount  of  shedding  and  cow  barns  on  north  side  of  main  cattle 
yard.  I  use  racks  made  of  pine  lumber  to  feed  hay  to  the  cattle. 
The  size  of  each  is  sixteen  feet  long,  five  and  one-third  feet 
wide,  two  and  one-half  feet  high,  with  a  partition  in  the  mid- 
dle, rising  two  feet  above  the  rack,  making  it  equal  to  a  single 
rack  thirty-two  feet  long.  For  top  of  rack  I  use  two  by  four 
inch  stuff,  which  I  bolt  on  to  corner  posts,  made  of  four  by  four 
inch  stuff.  I  have  recently  put  in  feed  boxes  three  feet  wide, 
by  sixteen  feet  long,  with  tight  bottom,  in  fwhich  I  give  my 
stock  cattle  their  small  daily  allowance  of  oats,  shelled  corn, 
or  ground  feed.  This  I  consider  a  very  economical  method, 
and  vastly  superior  to  the  more  common  way  of  throwing  down 
a  lot  of  corn  for  the  cattle  to  trample  under  their  feet,  or  into 
the  mud.  With  a  view  to  the  future  protection  of  the  cattle 
yards,  I  have  planted  a  grove  of  nearly  one  thousand  walnut 


ARRANGEMENT  OF  FARM.  3£9 

trees  on  the  north,  and  an  equal  amount  of  young  cotton  woods 
.  on  the  west.  Adjoining  this  main  cattle  yard  on  the  south,  is 
a  commodious  yard  for  stacking  hay  and  straw.  In  the  shelter 
afforded  by  these  stacks,  are  the  calf  lots.  These  are  provided 
with  racks,  built  along  the  fence,  and  convenient  to  the  hay 
rick.  In  these  lots  also,  there  are  the  necessary  troughs  where 
the  calves  get  their  daily  allowance  of  corn  or  oats,  and  where 
also  they  are  salted.  These  yards  are  provided  with  a  sufficient 
amount  of  board  sheds  into  which  the  calves  can  go  at  will, 
and  be  protected  from  the  rain  or  Winter  storms.  Under  the 
same  roof  is  a  room  about  twelve  feet  square,  which  is  used  as 
a  Winter  nest  by  my  brood  sows,  who  have  the  run  of  an 
adjoining  lot  of  six  or  eight  acres.  This  lot  is  watered  by  a 
small  branch,  but,  as  this  at  times  makes  a  very  muddy  or  icy 
watering  place,  oft-times  dangerous  for  cattle  in  the  Winter 
season,  I  have  a  well  on  the  same  lot  provided  with  a  pump, 
windmill,  and  suitable  tank,  which  affords  a  constant  supply  of 
good  water,  at  all  times  easy  of  access  to  man  and  beast. 
Near  this  well  I  have  a  feed  lot  where  steers  and  hogs  are 
fatted  for  the  market.  This  lot  is  also  provided  with  necessary 
sheds  to  afford  the  cattle  and  hogs  a  retreat  from  the  cutting 
Kansas  winds.  The  yard  is  also  furnished  with  feed  boxes  into 
which  the  corn  is  usually  thrown  with  the  husks  still  on.  This 
is  almost  their  exclusive  feed,  and  there  are  many  farmers  who 
do  not  give  their  fattening  cattle  any  hay  at  all  while  feeding 
snapped  corn.  A  great  deal  of  whole  corn  passes  through 
stock  fed  in  this  way,  but  here  the  hog  steps  in,  and  proves  a 
very  economical  animal  where  this  mode  of  feeding  cattle  is 
practiced.  I  find,  in  my  experience,  that  where  twenty  steers 
are  fed  in  this  way,  about  thirty  hogs  will  get  very  fat  with  a 
very  small  amount  of  extra  grain.  This  feed  lot  is  supplied 
with  water  from  the  well,  conveyed  into  a  tank  by  underground 
pipes.  Attached  to  this  tank  I  have  a  watering  trough,  of 
my  own  invention,  for  hogs,  which  is  without  a  patent,  and  yet 
answers  a  good  purpose.  It  is  simply  a  plank  trough  about 
one  foot  wide,  over  which  there  is  a  strong  lid,  fastened  down 
with  iron  hooks.  This  lid  is  full  of  holes  just  large  enough  to 


330  NEMAHA  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

admit  the  hogs'  snouts,  without  giving  them  the  usual  oppor- 
tunity of  sticking  in  their  dirty  feet.  By  this  plan,  the  hogs 
are  furnished  with  water  which  is  comparatively  clean.  When 
mud  collects  in  a  trough  of  this  kind,  it  can  be  cleaned  very 
easily  by  raising  up  the  lid,  something  which  Avill  readily  be 
appreciated  by  those  who  have  tried  to  clean  out  a  hog  trough. 
Where  a  number  of  cleats  have  been  nailed  across  the  top  they 
answer  the  purpose  of  a  lid. 

IT  IS  VERY  ESSENTIAL 

that  the  fence  around  a  feed  lot  be  made  very  strong.  From 
experience  I  have  found  that  a  fence  built  live  boards  high, 
with  two  or  three  strands  of  barbed  wire  stretched  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  posts,  to  which  the  boards  are  nailed,  makes 
a  very  safe  fence,  and  is  the  most  durable  that  I  have  tried. 

STOCK. 

I  commenced  the  business  of  stock  raising  by  purchasing 
native  cows.  I  have  now  a  good  thorough-bred  bull,  and 
find  that  even  «the  results  of  the  first  cross  are  very  satis- 
factory. To  give  an  idea  of  the  quality  and  value  of  such 
calves  when  about  eight  or  nine  months  old,  I  may  say,  that 
my  son,  who  is  in  partnership  with  me  in  the  business  of 
stock  raising,  sold  his  share  of  the  calves  on  a  credit  of  nine 
months,  the  steers  averaging  $16.50,  and  the  heifers  about  $14. 
I  have  tried  almost  every  breed  of  hogs,  and  have  arrived  at 
the  conclusion  that  the  Poland  China  is  decidedly  the  hog 
for  the  million.  He  is  a  hog  of  a  remarkably  good  disposition, 
a  hearty  eater,  grows  rapidly  when  well  cared  for,  can  be  fattened 
at  any  age,  and  is  remarkably  free  from  disease.  Every  farmer 
who  has  to  keep  his  hogs  shut  up,  should  have  for  them  a  good 
clover  pasture.  Hogs  can  be  raised  much  cheaper  and  easier  in 
a  clover-field  than  in  any  other  way ;  besides  they  fatten  much 
quicker  when  taken  from  the  clover  field  and  fed  on  corn. 

North  Eastern  Kansas  holds  out  great  inducements  to 
those  who  intend  engaging  in  the  raising  and  management 
of  cattle.  This  county,  Nemaha,  is  largely  prairie,  the  soil  is 
a  black  sandy  loam,  very  productive  and  capable  of  raising  all 


NATURAL  ADVANTAGES.  331 

the  grains  and  grasses  usually  grown  in  the  North  West. 
There  is  a  great  abundance  of  good  stock  water,  and  the  large 
amount  of  unoccupied  land  furnishes  plenty  of  rich  pasture 
for  over  six  months  in  the  year,  and  hay  of  good  quality  to  keep 
the  cattle  the  remainder  of  the  year.  The  very  best  quality 
of  land  can  be  had  for  five  or  six  dollars  per  acre.  Here  we 
have  a  county  free  from  debt,  a  jail  (which  cost  $10,000)  nearly 
always  empty,  plenty  of  good  schools,  no  herd  law,  and  free 
pasturage  for  the  poor  man's  cow  from  the  first  of  April  to  the 
first  of  November. 

ANSON  S.  COOKE, 

BELOIT,    MITCHELL    COUNTY. 

Mixed  Husbandry  —  Cost  per  Acre  of  Growing  Winter  Wheat, 
Oats,  Corn,  and  Fruit  —  Management  and  Breeding  of  Hogs 
and  Farm  Horses — It  Pays  to  Push  all  Young  Stock  as  Fast 
as  G-ood  Food  and  G-ood  Care  Will  Do  It. 

My  farm  is  situated  near  the  center  of  Mitchell  Co.,  Kan- 
sas, on  high,  rolling  prairie.  A  little  over  seven  years  ago  it 
was  unbroken  sod,  owned  by  the  United  States.  It  consists  of 
240  acres.  One  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  it  are  enclosed  and 
subdivided  by  a  hedge  fence  of  Osage  orange.  I  have  176 
acres  under  cultivation,  the  remainder  being  wild  meadow  and 
pasture  land.  I  have  an  orchard  of  175  apple  trees,  most  of 
them  three  years  old.  I  have  a  peach  orchard  of  200  trees  four 
years  old,  all  of  which  is  surrounded  on  the  north,  west,  and 
south  by  wind-breaks  of  the  same  age,  and  all  are  growing 
well.  The  farm  is  conducted  on  the  system  of  mixed  hus- 
bandry, and  is  devoted  to  both  grain  and  stock.  I  find  from 
experience  that  it  pays  to  use  the  best  labor-saving  machinery. 
I  do  most  of  my  plowing  with  a  three-horse  sulky  plow,  as  it 
enables  me  to  stir  the  soil  deeper,  and  covers  the  weeds  better. 

WHEAT. 

Winter  wheat  has  been  one  of  the  principal  productions 
of  my  farm,  as  it  does  well  in  this  latitude  and  brings  quick 


332  MITCHELL  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

returns.  My  method  is  to  plow  the  ground  early  in  August, 
as  this  kills  all  the  weeds,  and  is  almost  equal  to  a  Summer 
fallow.  It  also  allows  the  ground  to  settle  with  the  aid  of 
Summer  rains,  causing  it  to  retain  the  moisture  for  the  quick 
germination  of  the  seed  when  sown.  I  harrow  the  ground 
thoroughly  in  September,  when  I  put  on  the  drill,  sowing 
about  one  bushel  to  the  acre,  taking  care  to  run  the  drills 
east  and  west,  thus  protecting  the  young  plants  from  exposure 
by  having  their  roots  bared  in  dry  and  windy  weather.  The 
prevailing  winds  blow  from  the  north  and  south.  I  cut  the 
grain  with  a  harvester,  at  a  cost  of  one  dollar  and  a  quarter 
per  acre.  I  stack  as  soon  as  the  grain  is  properly  cured,  in 
medium-sized  round  stacks,  as  they  settle  more  evenly,  and 
stand  high  winds  better  than  ricks.  After  waiting  five  or  six 
weeks  to  sweat,  I  thresh  and  store,  ready  for  market.  Winter 
wheat  ranges  in  yield  from  ten  to  thirty-five  bushels  per 'acre, 
but  twenty  bushels  is  a  good  average  crop,  and  can  be  pro- 
duced at  a  cost  of  about  thirty-three  cents  per  bushel,  as  shown 
by  the  following  estimates : 

Interest  on  land,  at  $15  per  acre,      -         -    $1.50 

Cost  of  Seed,  "  1.00 

"       Plowing,  "  -      1.00 

"       Harrowing,  "  .45 

"       Harvesting,  "  -      1.25 

"      Stacking,  "  .50 

"       Threshing,  '"  -  .80 

Total,  -  $6.50 

Divided  by  yield  per  acre,  20  bushels=32£  cents. 

OATS 

are  the  very  best  grain  for  horse  feed  during  the  Summer,  or 
for  young  colts,  and  have  always  been  one  of  the  products  of 
the  farm.  Forty  bushels  is  about  an  average  yield  per  acre, 
at  a  cost  of  about  fourteen  or  fifteen  cents  per  bushel,  but  I 
produce  only  in  quantities  to  supply  home  needs.  I  have 
been  most  successful  with  oats  sown  upon  stalk  ground,  the 
stalks  and  litter  being  first  well  plowed  under,  sowing  them  as 


CULTIVATION  OF  CORN.  333 

early  as  the  1st  of  April.     I  prefer  to  have  them  sown  broad- 
cast, and  well  cultivated  in  the  ground. 

CORN, 

in  the  near  future,  will  be  our  standard  crop,  and  now  stands 
second  only  to  wheat.  In  the  culture  of  corn  we  begin  early 
in  the  Spring  to  prepare  the  ground.  First,  by  cutting  the 
stalks  off  the  old  stalk  ground,  then  by  plowing  them  under  very 
deep,  to  enable  the  ground  to  withstand  the  drouths  of  Sum- 
mer, by  which  we  are  sometimes  affected.  Before  planting  we 
thoroughly  harrow  the  surface  and  mark  off  into  rows  of  three 
feet  eight  inches  in  width,  then  plant  with  horse  planter  about 
the  5th  to  the  10th  of  May,  dropping  from  two  to  four  kernels 
in  a  hill.  Before  corn  comes  up  harrow  again,  care  being  taken 
to  keep  the  harrow,  clear  of  trash  and  clods.  I  find  this  last 
harrowing  equal  to  once  cultivating,  besides  making  it  so  much 
easier  to  cultivate  the  first  time.  I  go  through  the  corn  two 
or  three  times  with  cultivator,  leaving  the  ground  as  nearly 
level  as  possible  the  last  time.  That  is,  not  ridging  up  the 
rows.  If  this  does  not  clean  the  corn,  I  have  a  boy  go  through 
»it  and  pull  up  the  remaining  weeds.  Our  most  troublesome 
weeds  are  the  wild  sunflower,  cockle  burr,  and  ragweed.  The 
latter  looks  a  little  like  wild  sage.  Corn  yields  from  forty  to 
seventy-five  bushels  to  the  acre.  Some  runs  even  as  high  as 
100  bushels,  but  fifty  bushels  is  a  good  average.  Corn  can  be 
produced  for  about  eleven  cents  per  bushel,  according  to  the 
following  estimate : 

Int.  on  land,  per  acre,      -  $1.50 

Cost  of  Plowing,  per  acre,   -  1.80 

"       Harrowing,      "  -  .45 

"       Cultivating,      "       -  1.00 

"       Gathering,  at  2  cts.  per  bushel,    -      1.00 

Total,  $5.75 

Divided  by  average  crop,  50  bushels=lli  cents. 

FRUIT. 

As  this  country  is  new  I  am  not  able  to  give  as  full  an  ac- 
count of  results  as  I  should  like  to.   On  our  windy,  bleak  prairies 


334  MITCHELL   COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

it  is  very  essential  to  have  belts  of  timber  around  our  farm 
buildings  and  orchards  for  protection.  Four  years  ago,  in  1875, 
I  planted  belts  of  cottonwoods  on  the  north,  west,  and  south 
of  my  orchard,  and  in  1876,  one  year  later,  planted  125  apple 
trees,  of  about  eight  varieties.  I  have  lost  but  three  or  four 
trees  out  of  the  number.  I  plowed  the  ground  deep  and  set  in 
rows  twenty-five  feet  apart,  and  have  cultivated  well  since. 
Twelve  of  the  trees  blossomed  quite  full  in  the  Spring  of  1879, 
and  nearly  matured  quite  a  number  of  apples.  The  Summer^ 
of  1878  the  trees  made  an  average  growth  of  two  and  one-half 
feet.  The  Summer  of  1879,  two  feet. 

The  varieties  planted  are  Summer,  Early  Harvest,  Early 
June,  Benoni,  Winter  Winesap,  White  Winter  Pearmain,  Ben 
Davis,  King,  Stark,  Missouri  Keeper,  and  Jonathan.  All  have 
grown  well.  In  the  Spring  of  1875  I  planted  half  a  bushel  of 
peach  pits.  The  trees  have  made  an  excellent  growth',  and 
have  borne  fruit  for  two  years. 

Grafted  fruits  have  done  well,  as  also  cherries,  plums  and 
pears.  It  has  been  my  plan  to  cultivate  all  my  trees  and  keep 
them  free  from  weeds,  as  they  grow  much  more  thrifty.  Dur- 
ing a  protracted  drouth  it  is  well  to  mulch  with  old  hay.  All 
small  fruit,  with  the  exception  of  currants,  do  well  here. 
Grapes  "are  a  success,  when  properly  managed. 

STOCK. 

My  attention  has  been  given  mostly  to  the  breeding  of 
hogs  and  farm  horses.  After  some  experimenting  I  have  set- 
tled upon  the  Poland  China  breed  of  hogs  as  best  adapted  to 
my  purpose,  owing  to  their  large  frame  and  early  fattening 
qualities.  I  breed  almost  entirely  from  old  sows,  as  they  pro- 
duce larger  and  better  developed  pigs,  which  seem  to  fatten 
and  mature  younger  than  pigs  from  young  sows.  Our  brood 
sows  are  selected  from  the  most  perfectly  developed  young 
ones,  choosing  those  of  long  and  roomy  frames,  with  square- 
set  shoulders  and  hams,  short  noses,  moderate-sized,  drooping 
ears,  and  kind,  docile  dispositions.  I  keep  only  those  which 
prove  to  be  careful  mothers.  I  try  to  produce  two  litters  a 


STOCK  — HORSES.  335 

year ;  the  first  early  in  the  Spring,  and  the  second  early  in  the 
Fall.  Pigs  should  learn  to  eat  earl}7,  as  the  mother  soon  fails 
to  give  sufficient  nourishment ;  this  they  will  easily  learn  to 
do  if  they  can  have  access  to  a  trough  of  milk,  or  swill,  placed 
where  they  can  not  be  disturbed.  Pigs  should  be  weaned  at 
the  age  of  three  months,  and  never  allowed  to  stop  in  growth ; 
and  at  the  age  of  eight  months  should  weigh  from  two  hun- 
dred to  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds.  The  boars  should  be 
of  no  kin  to  the  brood  sows,  and  should  be  of  medium  length, 
with  well-developed  hams  and  shoulders,  very  square  built, 
docile  in  disposition.  Hogs  in  the  Spring  should  be  allowed 
green  feed  for  a  short  time,  at  least,  and  will  not  thrive  with- 
out it.  Brood  sows  should  not  be  confined  in  a  small  pen.  I 
find  they  do  best  if  allowed  to  select  and  make  their  own  bed, 
at  farrowing  time.  For  food  to  .fatten  hogs  it  pays  to  grind, 
and  soak  the  meal  until  soft.  Hogs  in  Summer  should  have 
shade,  and  in  cold  weather  require  good  warm,  dry  shelter ; 
without  it  they  need  at  least  one-third  more  feed.  Our  hogs 
give  us  no  trouble  about  rooting,  as  a  hog  with  all  he  wants  to 
eat  and  drink  is  too  lazy  to  root.  The  advantages  of  breeding 
two  litters  a  year  are  these :  First,  one-half  the  sows  produce 
the  same  number  of  pigs,  or  twice  the  number,  breeding  only 
once.  Second,  it  gives  you  hogs  to  turn  off  in  Fall  and  Spring, 
the  two  best  marketing  seasons  of  the  year.  Hogs  can  be 
fattened  and  sold  for  two  and  a  half  cents  per  pound  at  a  fair 
profit. 

HORSES. 

Horses  for  farm  use  should  be  neither  too  light  nor  too 
heavy.  I  find  that  a  horse  weighing  about  eleven  hundred  or 
twelve  hundred  pounds,  proves  the  most  valuable  for  all  work, 
as  one  much  heavier  is  easily  used  up  on  the  road,  and  one 
much  lighter  is  not  able  to  perform  the  heavy  work  required 
on  the  farm.  I  have  been  breeding  from  the  Norman  Clydes- 
dale, and  believe  them  to  be  well  adapted  to  farm  uses.  The 
mare,  while  carrying  the  foal,  should  be  allowed  plenty  of 
exercise,  and  not  be  put  to  straining  or  hard  labor.  I  give 


336  MITCHELL  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

plenty  of  good  wholesome  food,  such  as  oats  and  clear  wild 
hay,  but  pasture  is  better.  After  the  mare  has  had  her  colt,  give 
her  a  week  or  ten  days'  rest,  when  she  may  be  put  to  light 
work.  As  soon  as  the  colt  will  eat,  give  it  a  small  feed  of 
clean  oats  when  the  mare  is  fed,  and  never  allow  it  to  stop  in 
its  growth.  It  pays  with  all  young  animals  to  push  their  growth 
as  fast  as  good  food  and  good  care  will  do  it. 

LAND. 

Mitchell  county  lies  in  the  central  part  of  the  State  of 
Kansas.  The  Solomon  river  runs  through  it  from  the  north- 
west to  the  southeast,  giving  abundance  of  water  power  the 
year  round.  The  surface  of  the  country  is  divided  into  bot- 
tom lands  and  high  rolling  prairie ;  the  streams  are  all  bor- 
dered with  timber,  which,  with  economy,  will  be  enough  for 
fuel.  Our  people  enjoy  the  benefits  of  the  herd  law,  but  are 
rapidly  fencing  their  farms  with  Osage  orange  hedges,  which 
do  well  here.  Our  soil  and  climate  seem  adapted  to  all  kinds 
of  grain  and  fruit  produced  in  the  center  of  the  temperate 
zone.  The  soil  is  a  rich  loam,  from  two  to  four  feet  in  depth, 
and  the  climate  is  decidedly  healthy.  The  Winters  are  short 
and  open,  rarely  having  much  snow  or  rain.  Good  water  is 
abundant  at  a  depth  of  from  twelve  to  forty  feet.  There  are 
many  indications  of  coal,  and  it  is  mined  to  some  extent 
already.  Splendid  building  rock  is  found  in  abundance,  and 
is  to  us  what  the  forests  have  been  to  some  of  the  older  States. 
We  have  two  competing  railroads  running  to  our  county  seat, 
Beloit,  which  is  situated  near  the  center  of  the  county,  giving 
us  a  very  good  market.  Land  in  1879  sold  at  from  five  to 
twenty-five  dollars  per  acre.  Here  is  a  good  place  for  a  man 
with  energy  and  small  capital  to  secure  a  good  home  for  him- 
self and  family. 


WIND-BREAKS.  337 

W.  S.  GILE, 

VENANGO,  ELLSWORTH  COUNTY. 

Tree  Culture  as  a  Protection  to  Crops —  Winter  WJieat  and 
Corn  —  The  Latter  the  Best  Crop  —  Sheep  Interest  Increas- 
ing—  Climate. 

VENAXGO   PARK  FARM 

is  situated  in  the  east  end  of  the  county,  in  the  valley . 
of  the  Smoky  Hill  river,  fourteen  miles  east  of  Fort  Hacker. 
It  contains  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  two  hundred  and 
twenty  of  bottom  and  one  hundred  of  upland,  and  is  all  prairie. 
When  located  (1872)  it  was  entirely  treeless.  The  bottom 
is  sand  and  loam  —  upland  sandy,  on  a  clay  subsoil,  well  wa- 
tered, by  springs,  and  in  good  pasture  from  the  native  grasses, 
blue  stem  and  buffalo  grass. 

WIND-BREAKS. 

It  is  one  mile  long,  east  and  west,  and  has  a  double  row  of 
forest  trees  set  around  all  that  is  broken.  They  are  set  two 
feet  apart,  and  as  fast  as  I  break  I  intend  to  continue  the  set- 
ting of  trees  thus  close.ly  on  the  outside,  as  they  will  afford  not 
only  ornament,  but  a  wind-break  for  the  protection  of  growing 
crops.  I  set  out  the  seedling  cottonwood,  box  alder,  coffee 
bean,  white  ash,  black  walnut,  and  honey  locust.  The  cotton- 
wood  and  the  box  alder  are  the  surest  to  live,  and  are  the 
most  rapid  growers  of  any  tree  I  have  tried.  In  front  of  and 
around  my  house,  I  have  trees  that  I  set  from  seedlings,  that 
are  thirty  feet  high  and  eight  inches  through,  whose  growth 
is  only  seven  years. 

WHEAT. 

I  have  one  hundred  and  thirty  acres  in  cultivation.  The 
land  is  well  suited  to  the  production  of  all  the  grains.  Fall 
wheat  usually  produces  twenty  bushels  to  the  acre  on  the 
bottom  lands,  and  is  generally  a  plump,  well-filled  berry. 


338  ELLSWORTH  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

The  variety  mostly  raised  here  is  Red  May.  I  raised  forty  acres 
the  year  after  the  grasshopper  raid,  on  corn  stubble  plowed  in 
with  a  cultivator.  It  stood  at  harvest  six  feet  two  inches  high, 
and  yielded  when  threshed,  thirty-four  bushels  to  the  acre.  It 
sold  on  the  farm  for  fifty  cents  per  bushel.  Since  then  I  have 
raised  but  one  crop — the  price  going  so  low  that  it  does  not 
pay  the  cost  of  production.  Spring  wheat  in  this  locality  has 
never  paid ;  the  same  land  in  Fall  wheat  will  yield  four  times 
as  well  as  Spring  wheat.  Oats  vary  from  twenty-five  to  sev- 
enty-five bushels  per  acre ;  barley  about  thirty. 

Owing  to  altitude  and  the  conditions  of  soil,  we  in  centra] 
Kansas  are  experimental  farmers.  Old  methods  as  practiced  in 
the  States  east  of  the  Mississippi,  fail  oftener  with  us  than  they 
do  there.  Eight  years  ago  the  larger  part  of  the  farmers  here, 
coming  from  wheat-growing  States,  thought  that  it  was  impos- 
sible for  us  to  make  wheat  a  success.  They  plowed  early, 
deep,  and  sowed  broadcast,  and  covered  with  the  harrow,  sow- 
ing in  August.  This  did  not  produce  paying  crops.  The  next 
trial  was  to  plow  later,  and  shallow,  and  sow  in  September. 
This  plan  worked  a  little  better.  Now  the  most  successful 
wheat  raisers  commence  plowing  soon  after  harvest ;  they  plow 
deep  enough  to  cover  the  trash  and  weeds,  and  let  the  ground 
rest  until  near  the  10th  of  September ;  then  harrow,  and  sow 
from  a  bushel  and  a  peck  to  one  and  one-half  bushels  to  the 
acre  with  a  drill. 

The  Fall  of  1879  I  sowed  wheat  with  a  drill  after  cutting 
and  shocking  the  corn  on  the  stubble,  witliout  even  harrowing 
the  ground.  I  commenced  sowing  the  last  day  of  September. 
I  had  a  fine  stand,  and  it  has  the  appearance  of  having  sufficient 
root  to  stand  a  Winter. 

CORN. 

Corn  is  the  crop.  In  the  valleys,  if  planted  early  and  well 
looked  after,  it  will  produce  from  fifty  to  seventy-five  bushels 
per  acre.  I  plow  early  for  corn,  about  ten  inches  deep.  I  plant 
in  rows,  four  feet  apart,  harrowing  after  planting,  and  cultivat- 
ing twice  each  way.  In  1879  I  had  one  hundred  acres  worked 
in  this  manner.  The  corn  is  sound,  heavy  and  firm  on  the  cob, 


COST  OF  CULTIVATION.  331) 

and  my  tenant  places  the  entire  crop  at  fifty  bushels  to  the 
acre. 

As  to  the 

COST   OP  CULTIVATION 

and  production  of  crops  in  Kansas,  I  believe  they  can  be  pro- 
duced with  as  little  labor  in  this  State  as  in  any  other  State  of 
the  Union.  One  pair  of  horses  and  a  man  can  plow  and  pre- 
pare the  ground  and  'tend  thoroughly  sixty  acres  of  corn.  One 
good  team  and  man,  having  no  hindrance,  can  work  a  farm  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  half  corn  and  half  Fall  wheat, 
by  having  help  in  harvesting  each  of  the  crops,  and  do  it  all  in 
a  good,  farmer-like  manner. 

THE  VALLEY 

lands  of  this  county  are  good  enough  to  please  the  most  fas- 
tidious land-seeker.  The  uplands  are  well  watered,  and  of 
superior  quality  for  pasturage.  Grazers  of  large  Southern  and 
Western  experience  say  that  stock  of  all  kinds  put  on  flesh 
more  rapidly  here  than  either  north,  west,  or  south  of  us. 
More 

SHEEP 

have  been  brought  into  the  uplands  of  the  county  the  past  two 
years  than  have  been  kept  here  previously.  Merinos  seem  to 
be  the  favorite  sheep,  as  they  herd  easier,  are  equally  as  healthy 
as  the  coarser  wooled  sheep,  and  produce  more  wool. 

STOCK.  f 

The  improved  Berkshire  is  the  favorite  hog  for  earljrmar^ 
ket,  and  is  a  cheap  and  easy  feeder.  The  light  Western  horse 
or  pony  is  fast  being  superseded  as  a  work  horse  by  good,  heavy 
draft  horses,  Norman  Percheron  stock  being  preferred  by 
our  best  farmers. 

A  cross  of  the  Short-Horn  and  native  is  looked  upon  with 
the  most  favor,  and  raisers  of  fine  cattle  seem  to  be  as  much 
divided  here  as  in  Illinois  as  to  the  merits  of  the  Short-Horn 
and  Hereford  for  beef. 

Thus  far  in  this  county  we  can  not  claim  success  in  the 
production  of  fruit.  I  have  tried  from  foreign  nurseries  nearly 


340  ATCHISON  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

every  kind  of  fruit,  and  in  every  case  have  failed.  Not  a  sin- 
gle tree  has  lived  out  of  over  four  hundred.  I  attribute  the 
loss  to  the  exposure  of  the  roots  of  the  tree  to  our  severe  winds 
while  in  transit.  The  only  fruit  trees  I  now  have  are  those 
where  the  seed  was  planted  where  the  tree  was  to  remain. 
They  are  making  a  fine  growth,  and  look  as  thrifty  as  one  could 
wish.  I  have  as  fine  seedling  peaches,  both  in  size  and  flavor, 
planted  as  above,  as  I  ever  tasted. 

As  yet  none  of  the  farmers,  in  the  east  end  of  the  county 
have  attempted  to  produce  any  of  the  tame  grapes. 

The  climate  of  central  Kansas  is  good.  Storms  and  cold 
snaps  in  the  winter  usually  are  of  short  duration.  Our  first  frost 
in  1879  was  on  the  22d  of  October.  I  have  frequently  started 
the  plow  in  February,  and  continued  without  hindrance  from 
frost.  I  have  sown  wheat,  barley  and  oats  in  March.  I  have 
broken  prairie  in  November,  February,  March,  April,  M;ur, 
June,  and  July,  and  so  far  as  rotting  of  the  sod  or  the  produc- 
tion of  crops  is  concerned,  I  have  never  been  able  to  perceive 
that  it  made  any  difference  in  regard  to  what  time  of  year  the 
breaking  was  done  ;  the  only  point  being  to  have  it  well  done. 


WILLIAM  L.  CHALLIS, 

ATCHISON,    ATCHISON    COUNTY. 

Personal  Reminiscences — No  G-rain  Raised  on  the  Farm — Clover 
the  Principal  G-rass  —  Sheep  Corrals  —  Cattle  Barns — Piggery 
— Infirmary  —  Slaughter  House  —  Advantages  of  Northern 
Kansas  for  Stock  Raising. 

WOODLAND  FAEM. 

June  3d,  1856,  I  stepped  from  the  deck  of  a  Missouri  river 
steamboat  to  the  levee  of  Atchison,  then  a  small  territorial  vil- 
lage, now  a  great  commercial  city,  with  its  eight  trunk  lines  of 
railroads  radiating  to  every  quarter  of  the  continent. 

I  had  been  educated  for  a*  physician,  and  for  years  previ- 
ously had  ministered  to  the  sick  of  Burlington  county,  New 


REMINISCENCES.  341 

Jersey,  but  the  field  was  too  small  and  could  not  compete  with 
the  great  prospects  then  opening  in  Kansas. 

It  was  not  until  1857  that  my  agricultural  experience 
began.  I  had  bought  of  John  Yocam  —  a  genuine  Pawpaw 
Missourian  —  a  claim  of  one  hundred  and  ninety-two  acres 
adjoining  the  town  site  of  Atchison,  for  $4-50,  and  put  thereon 
an  old  German  named  Loui,  who  had  been  to  me  a  kind  of 
body-guard  for  years.  His  career  was  short,  being  called  hence 
the  same  year,  after  an  illness  of  only  one  d&y.  This  calamity 
made  it  necessary  for  me  to  take  his  place  in  person.  My 
house  was  a  primitive  log  cabin  with  mud  roof,  and  without 
windows,  into  which  I  took  my  wife,  the  comfort  of  my  life, 
and  our  two  little  girls,  Ida  and  Bertha. 

Now  began  my  pastoral  life,  and  without  following  in  detail 
my  many  years  of  varied  experiences  and  cares,  I  will  simply 
say  that  from  that  purchase  of  a  pre-emption  right,  a  farm  of 
seven  hundred  acres  has  arisen,  with  abundant  timber  to  sup- 
ply ten  miles  of  plank  and  hedge  fences.  There  are  seven 
dwelling  houses,  barns  for  the  storage  of  three  hundred  and 
fifty  tons  of  hay;  a  slaughter  house,  wool  house,  piggery, 
blacksmith  shop,  etc.,  etc.  Four  hundred  acres  of  this  land  is 
in  tame  grasses,  and  is  now  known  as  Woodland  Farm. 

REMINISCENCES. 

Before  describing  the  stock  and  appliances  upon  the  farm, 
a  few  reminiscences  of  pioneer  life  may  not  be  out  of  place. 
There  were  upon  the  claim  ten  acres  broken,  and  ready  for  my 
first  corn  crop.  But  I  must  tell  of  the  good  fortune  that  came 
to  us  at  that  time.  My  old  friend  Jos.  McCulley,  shook  off  the 
sand  and  cobwebs  of  New  Jersey  and  broke  for  the  West. 
Joe  was  a  good  fellow,  genial  and  smart,  with  a  heart  as  big  as 
an  ox,  but  when  things  did  not  go  to  suit  him,  he  was  cross 
and  irritable.  But  there  was  music  in  his  soul,  and  Mrs.  Chal- 
lis,  understanding  his  weakness,  would,  when  crookedness 
struck  him,  sing  "  Rosalie,  the  Prairie  Flower,"  which  woulcj 
always  straighten  him  out.  Now  Joe  knew  more  about  plant? 
ing  corn  than  we  did,  and  he  was  made  leader.  The  ground 


342  ATCHISON   COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

being  prepared,  the  seed  was  dropped  by  my  wife,  whose  hands 
were  unused  to  such  labor,  while  Joe  and  I  covered  the  corn 
with  hoes.  The  corn  came  up  and  grew  finely.  Then  was  cul- 
tivating time  !  My  outfit  for  this  arduous  work  was  a  little 
Spanish  mule  thirteen  hands  high,  and  a  shovel  plow — a  genu- 
ine Missouri  tool.  Neither  Joe  nor  I  were  much  used  to  labor 
or  to  a  June  sun,  and  as  we  both  had  to  work  against  the 
mule,  we  entered  into  a  compact.  Having  erected  an  umbrella 
in  the  corner  of  the  worm  fence,  we  agreed  to  go  a  "  bout  "and 
rest  in  turn.  This  worked  to  our  entire  satisfaction,  and  cer- 
tainly there  was  never  a  better  crop  of  corn  raised.  , 

Soon  after  this,  and  just  when  we  needed  agricultural 
instruction,  our  friend  Lew.  Dubois  turned  his  back  on  Jersey 
and  came  to  us,  bringing  with  him  as  a  helpmate  a  little  black- 
eyed  Jersey  girl.  Lew.  was  a  farmer  without  a  fault,  while 
his  "  Sally"  was  not  a  whit  behind  him. 

From  this  time  Woodland  began  to  blossom.  But  there 
was  one  cloud  in  the  domestic  firmament.  When  we  had  com- 
pany it  was  sure  to  rain  and  soak  through  the  mud  roof  upon 
the  snow-white  damask  cloth  on  the  table,  to  the  great  disgust 
of  the  housewife.  A  new  house  became  therefore  a  necessity. 
At  that  time  mechanics  could  not  be  had,  but  Joe  was  a  skilled 
workman,  and  with  our  help,  in  due  time,  a  one  and  a  half 
story  cottage  of  some  pretensions  was  erected. 

In  this  work  a  very  important  factor  was  the  wife,  cheer- 
ing us  on  while  we  applied  the  lumber  and  mortar.  When  at 
last  it  was  finished,  and  the  piano  rolled  into  place,  Joe  was 
fully  compensated  for  his  long  hours  of  toil  by  the  house- 
wife's cheerful  songs. 

After  some  ten  years  there  came  to  us  one  Adoniram  Jud- 
son  Haskins,  a  dyed-in-the-wool  Yankee,  who,  like  his  illus- 
trious namesake,  concluded  that  the  heathen  needed  him,  and 
struck  for  Kansas.  There  was  no  romance  in  his  make-up, 
and  no  one  would  have  had  the  audacity  to  pass  "  bass-wood 
hams"  or  "beech  nutmegs"  on  him!  Old  Faithful,  Honesty 
and  Steady  Habits  combined,  he  has  become  a  part  and  parcel 
of  "  Woodland  Farm."  He  is  to-day  overseer  of  that  farm, 


CLOVER  THE  PRINCIPAL  CROP.  343 

ft 

and  can  daily  be  seen  on  his  mare  "  Sadie  "  reviewing  every  de- 
partment and  lubricating  its  machinery. 

AN  ACCOUNT  OF  THE    FARM. 

This  brings  me  down  to  the  present  time,  and  I  will 
attempt  an  account  of  the  farm  in  its  various  parts.  White 
Clay  creek  and  its  north  branch  run  through  it,  affording  a 
constant  supply  of  water;  also  the  Central  Branch  of  the 
Union  Pacific,  and  the  Atchison,  Topeka  and  Santa  Fe  rail- 
roads. On  the  south  part,  and  embracing  about  forty  acres, 
is  "  Woodland  Park."  Here  the  Northern  Kansas  District 
Fair  Association  holds  its  annual  meetings.  It  has  a  good 
half-mile  track,  a  large  barn,  Floral  Hall,  Agricultural  Hall,  a 
piggery,  shedding,  etc.,  and  is  under  the  care  of  Col.  T.  S. 
Towne.  It  is  a  pleasant  retreat,  with  .ample  shade  and  water, 
and  is  a  popular  resort. 

The  farm  is  subdivided  into  fields  of  various  sizes,  devoted 
to  hay  and  grazing.  No  grain  is  raised  now,  and  but  little 
land  is  plowed,  only  about  twenty-five  acres,  on  which  corn  is 
sown  for  forage.  In  this  way  much  less  labor  and  machinery 
are  required.  Grain  can  be  bought,  but  tame  grasses  and 
Winter  pasture  can  not  be  obtained  in  quantities. 

CLOVER  IS  OUR  PRINCIPAL  CROP, 

and  if  it  were  not  for  the  wet  Junes  and  Julys  we  have  had 
for  two  or  three  years  past,  I  should  be  its  strong  advocate. 
Rain  impairs  its  quality  greatly,  but  if  properly  saved,  it  has 
no  superior  as  Winter  forage  for  cattle  and  sheep.  My  clover 
fields  are  grazed  by  sheep  up  to  June,  after  which  we  cut  two 
crops  of  hay,  and  the  aftermath  is  always  abundant  for  Winter 
use.  The  pastures  proper  are  mostly  in  blue  grass,  which  is 
saved  for  Winter  feed.  The  prairie  grass  of  the  farm  is  cut  for 
hay  for  the  horses  in  Winter. 

FARM  LABOR. 

On  various  parts  of  the  farm  are  sundry  dwelling  houses, 
for  the  occupation  of  the  workmen.  I  employ  married  men,  fur- 
nishing them  a  house,  firewood,  and  a  garden  spot.  I  pay  them 


344 


ATCHISON  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 


twenty  dollars  per  month.  The  labor  of  married  men  I  find 
cheaper  and  more  reliable  than  that  of  single  men,  who  are 
here  to-day  and  gone  to-morrow. 

THE  FARM    BUILDINGS 

proper  and  the  yards  contiguous  cover  about  ten  acres,  and 
are  situated  on  the  north  branch  of  White  Clay  creek.  The 
dwelling  house  has  already  been  spoken  of.  The  primitive 
barn,  built  in  1858,  still  stands.  It  is  twenty  by  sixty  feet, 
and  is  used  for  horses,  the  storage  of  tools,  and  workshop,  and 
has  an  ample  loft  for  hay. 

N 


W 


80  ft. 


20ft. 


20  ft. 


65ft. 


E 


3 

Near  this  is  a  stone  basement  barn,  forty  by  sixty-five 
feet,  in  which  sixty  head- of  cattle  and  horses  can  be  stabled, 
leaving  the  upper  stories  for  grain  and  hay.  Adjoining  this, 
on  the  northwest  corner,  is  a  hay  and  cattle  barn,  twenty  feet 
wide,  which  runs  north  forty  feet,  west  eighty  feet,  and  south 
one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  forming  a  hollow  square,  which, 


FARM  BUILDINGS.  345 

opens  to  the  south.  Underneath  this  the  cattle  receive  their 
hay  from  above,  in  well-adjusted  racks,  with  a  box  four  feet 
wide  in  front,  to  catch  their  droppings.  Thus  neither  man, 
cattle,  nor  hay  are  exposed  to  the  weather. 

The  cattle  pass  in  and  out  at  will.  In  these  lofts,  which 
are 'fourteen  by  twenty  feet  wide  and  one  hundred  and  ninety 
feet  long,  the  hay  is  stored. 

To  the  west  of  this  is  the  stud-barn,  34x55  feet,  in  which 
the  Fairbanks'  scales  are  used  in  the  purchase  of  grain  and  sale 
of  stock;  there  is  also  a  mill  room,  where  formerly  grain  was 
ground  by  steam,  but  now  only  cob  meal  is  made  for  the  sheep 
and  cattle.  The  north  end  of  this  building  is  a  dwelling  house 
occupied  by  the  shepherd.  In  the  south  end  are  the  quarters 
of  the  stallions  and  bulls,  among  which  are  "  Newsy  "  and 
"  Woodland,1'  direct  descendants  of  "  Lexington,"  and  victors 
in  many  hotly  contested  races.  "  Calhoun  "  by  "  Mambrino 
Chief"  and  "Ben  Franklin"  by  "Whalebone  Knox,"  are 
good  trotters  who  will  yet  be  heard  from;  and  "  Diligence  " 
and  "  Diligence  jr.,"  noble  specimens  of  the  French  Norman 
are  here  also.  Each  horse  has  a  box  stall,  with  a  lot  attached, 
in  which  he  has  a  free  run  when  off  duty.  The  upper  story  is 
filled  with  hay.  Horse  forks  are  used  in  handling  the  hay,  in 
all  these  barns,  and  the  fields  are  supplied  with  a  tedder  and 
loader.  Contiguous  to  the  stud-barn  are  the  sheep  folds,  con- 
sisting of  four  corrals,  each  two  hundred  feet  square,  enclosed 
by  a  five  foot  picket  fence,  and  covered  on  the  north  by  tight- 
roof  sheds,  fourteen  feet  span. 

All  communicate  by  gates  and  lead  to  a  yard  used  for  catch- 
ing, subdividing  and  counting,  the  egress  from  which  is  a  narrow 
shute,  fourteen  inches  wide  and  twelve  feet  long.  The  outlet 
is  closed  by  a  gate  hinged  in  the  center,  and  a  little  beyond 
the  opening,  so  that  as  fast  as  they  pass  through  the  shute  the 
shepherd  can  divide  the  sheep  into  two  lots,  without  catching 
any  of  them.  In  the  center,  and  where  the  four  corners  of  the 
corrals  join,  there  is  a  well,  in  which  is  a  pump  worked  by  an 
"  Eclipse"  windmill.  The  water  is  forced  into  a  tank  set 
under  the  fence  which  divides  the  two  north  corrals ;  the  over- 


346 


ATCHISON  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 


flow  goes  into  a  similar  tank  to  the  south  corrals,  and  in  turn 
into  a  bucket  hung  in  the  well.  The  bucket  when  full  shuts 
off  the  mill,  and  when  it  empties  through  a  hole  in  the  bottom, 


PLAN 


OF 


o 


SHEEP 


CORRALS. 


the  mill  goes  to  work  again.  From  two  to  three  thousand 
sheep  can  be  wintered  here,  and  within  that  range  our  flock  now 
numbers.  Their  shepherd  is  J.  C.  Smart,  and  well-named  he  is. 
His  sheep  education  was  acquired  in  South  Africa,  where 
he  was  for  six  years  under  the  tuition  of  English  sheep  grow- 
ers. Returning  to  England,  the  hard  times  there  caused  him 
to  come  back  to  America  for  new  and  broader  fields  of  opera- 
tion. He  will  do  well,  and  thousands  more  like  him  should 
follow. 

GRAIN  IS  FED  TO  THE  SHEEP 

in  troughs  made  of  three  fence  planks  fourteen  feet  long.     In 


FEEDING  OF  SHEEP.  347 

dry  weather  the  hay  is  scattered  on  the  ground.  I  never  feed 
in  upright  slatted  racks,  as  more  is  wasted  than  consumed.  If 
it  is  scarce,  it  is  cut  by  horse-power  and  fed  in  boxes  on  run- 
ners, sixteen  feet  long,  two  feet  wide,  three  feet  high,  with  a 
trough  on  either  side  to  feed  from.  Below  is  a  cross  section ; 
these  are  hauled  from  place  to  place  by  a  team,  as  they  require 
filling. 


South  of  the  dwelling-house  is  the  smoke-house,  twelve 
feet  square,  blacksmith  shop,  twenty  by  twenty-five  feet,  the 
hennery,  and  the  corn  cribs.  Not  far  off  is  the  piggery,  thirty 
feet  by  seventy-five  feet,  having  twenty-two  pens,  six  by  twelve 
feet  each,  and  a  feed  room,  in  which  is  an  "  Anderson  Steamer  " 
for  cooking  the  food.  This  is  as  warm  as  a  house,  and  as  com- 
plete in  all  its  apartments.  The  water  is  supplied  underground 
from  pumps  at  the  barn.  The  tank  is  also  used  in  dipping 
sheep,  the  dip  being  made  by  the  same  steamer.  West  of  this 
is  the  infirmary,  thirty-five  feet  by  fifty  feet,  where  the  old  ewes 
and  the  weaklings  are  cared  for.  This  has  three  stories,  two  of 
which  the  animals  occupy.  The  other  contains  their  grain  and 
hay.  Near  to  this  is  the  slaughter  house,  thirty  feet  by  sixty 
feet,  used  also  for  the  shearing  and  storage  of  wool.  With  the 
farm  help,  we  can  kill  and  hang  one  hundred  hogs  each  day. 
The  meat  is  salted  in  a  room  especially  prepared  for  it  in 
another  building. 

These  various  buildings  and  stock  (except  the  sheep)  are 
under  the  care  of  George  Mitchell,  who  is  Old  Reliability 
itself,  always  on  hand  when  needed,  and  never  asleep  or  tired, 
so  long  as  any  of  the  stock  require  care. 

Over  all  these,  Judson  reigns  supreme,  and  the  sheep  dogs 
even  would  set  up  a  howl  if  he  were  once  missing  from  his 
daily  rounds. 

"  Woodland  "  is  a  busy  scene  in  Winter,  but  when  Spring 


348  DONIPHAN  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

grasses  come,  the  stock  is  taken  to  "  Woodlawn  Farm,"  sixty 
miles  west,  in  Nemaha  county,  where  they  stay  and  graze  upon 
the  Range,  returning  the  next  Fall.  "  Woodlawn  "  embraces 
six  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  good  corn  and  hay  land,  lias 
good  timber  and  water,  a  large  stock  barn,  four  dwelling 
houses,  and  a  mill  run  by  a  power  Eclipse  wind-engine  to  grind 
meal  and  feed.  Plenty  of  hogs,  cattle,  colts,  and  horses  are 
on  the  farm,  all  under  the  direct  care  and  management  of  Mr. 
Tom  Cardiff,  a  wide  awake  fellow,  who  stands  in  this  country 
with  scarcely  a  peer. 

Northern  Kansas  is  unsurpassed  in  agricultural  wealth. 
Land  is  still  very  cheap,  and  fertile,  and  well  adapted  to  the 
production  of  all  kinds  of  grain  and  grasses.  Stock  raising  is 
especially  profitable,  and  there  is  a  steady  market  at  the  far- 
mer's door  for  all  kinds  of  animals  at  good  prices.  If  the 
thousands  in  the  crowded  cities  of  the  East,  who  are  barely 
subsisting,  would  avail  themselves  of  this  great  heritage,  what 
untold  blessings  would  be  bequeathed  to  their  posterity. 


ADAM  HEATER, 

HIGHLAND,  DONIPHAN   COUNTY. 

What  Has  Been  Accomplished  in  Two  Years  —  The  Buildings  — 
The  Fences — The  Groves  —  Forty-Five  'Bushels  of  Win- 
ter Wheat  Crop  to  the  Acre  —  Each  Day  Its  Own  Task. 

Without  claiming  the  title  of  a  Model  Farmer,  I  am  quite 
willing  to  contribute  to  your  book,  giving  some  of  the 
methods  by  which  I  have  achieved  success  upon  the  prairies  of 
Kansas.  In  the  Summer  of  1871,  I  purchased  a  quarter  section 
of  land  in  Doniphan  Co.,  Kan.,  on  which  there  was  a  small 
house,  the  land  being  partly  in  cultivation.  I  left  the  farm  in 
the  hands  of  a  tenant  until  the  Spring  of  1878,  to  work  it  as 
he  saw  fit,  for  a  portion  of  the  crop.  In  the  meanwhile  I  paid 
no  attention  to  it  further  than  to  receive,  at  the  proper  seasons, 
the  rent.  I  mention  these  facts  solely  to  show  that,  when  I 


IMPROVEMENTS  349 

came  on  the  place  in  the  Spring  of  1878,  the  farm  was,  to  all 
intents  and  purposes,  no  more  than  an  open,  raw  prairie,  and 
that  I  have  built  it  up  in  the  short  space  of  less  than  two  years, 
showing  the  capabilities  and  possibilities  of  our  kindly  Kansas 
climate  and  fertile  Kansas  soil. 

My  first  work  was  given  to  remodeling  the  dwelling,  so  as 
to  make  it  convenient  for  my  family,  while  presenting  a  good 
appearance  inside  and  out.  The  fences  on  the  place  were  only 
outside  boundaries,  old  and  worn  out.  I  put  out  1£0  rods  of 
hedge  as  a  line  fence  between  my  neighbors  and  myself,  and 
built  GOO  rods  of  five-board  pine  fence,  using  selected  burr  oak 
posts  ;  also  250  rods  of  wire  fence,  with  the  same  kind  of  posts, 
set  sixteen  feet  apart,  and  using  three  strands  of  four  barbed 
wire.  I  placed  the  posts  for  the  wire  fence  at  this  distance 
apart,  so  that  if  at  any  time  I  wished  to  replace  the  wires  with 
boards,  I  could  do  so  by  simply  putting  another  post  between 
each  two  already  set,  and  using  sixteen-feet  boards. 

The  farm  was  a  fractional  quarter  section,  containing  163 
acres.  I  divided  it  into  twelve  lots  with  the  fences  I  have 
spoken  of.  One  field  contains  118  acres,  on  which  I  have  now 
growing  seventy-eight  acres  of  Winter  wheat,  sown  from  the 
15th  to  the  20th  of  September,  1879.  Twenty  acres  are  in 
meadow,  and  twenty  acres  are  reserved  for  corn  for  the  ensuing 
season.  Another  field  is  a  twelve-acre  pasture  in  the  northeast 
corner  of  the  place,  on  which  was  grown  wheat  in  the  year 
1878.  In  the  month  of  September,  1877,  when  the  field  was 
sown  with  wheat,  I  mixed  timothy  with  the  seed,  at  the  rate 
of  one  and  one-half  bushels  of  the  latter  for  every  ten  acres  of 
ground.  In  March,  1878,  I  sowed  the  same  field  with  clover 
seed,  at  the  rate  of  one  bushel  for  every  ten  acres.  In  the 
harvest  of  1878  this  crop  of  wheat  was  cut,  and  it  averaged 
thirty-three  bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre,  full  measure.  This 
pasture  the  whole  of  the  past  Summer  has  furnished  plenty  of 
feed  and  range  for  five  head  of  fine  blooded  cows,  which  have 
been  pastured  on  it,  and  five  head  of  horses.  The  sod  is  heavy 
and  well  set,  and  the  grass  is  strong  and  thrifty. 

West  of  this  twelve-acre  pasture  and  adjoining  it,  is  an- 


350  DONIPHAN-  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

other  field,  containing  eight  acres.  This  was  seeded  in  timothy 
in  the  Fall  of  1878,  at  the  time  of  sowing  wheat,  and  again  with 
clover  in  March,  1879,  on  the  same  conditions  as  the  other 
tract  referred  to  above.  In  the  sowing  season  of  1878,  I  only 
sowed  forty-seven  and  a  quarter  acres  of  Winter  wheat  myself, 
on  the  place.  This  included  the  eight-acre  lot  above  spoken 
of,  and  thirty-nine  acres  and  the  fraction  of  the  large  lot  im- 
mediately south  of  and  adjoining  it.  All  of  the  forty-seven 
and  a  quarter  acres  had  been  in  corn  the  previous  year.  In  the 
Summer  of  1878, 1  Summer-fallowed  it,  harrowed  and  rolled  it, 
and  left  it  until  about  the  12th  or  13th  day  of  September, 
when  I  drilled  it  in  wheat  at  the  rate  of  one  bushel  and  one 
peck  to  the  acre.  I  cut  it  the  two  last  days  in  June,  and  the 
first  and  second  days  of  July,  1879,  with  a  Buckeye  reaper  and 
binder,  and  the  forty-seven  and  a  quarter  acres  yielded  me 
twenty-one  hundred  and  thirty  bushels  of  wheat,  averaging 
forty-five  bushels  and  five  pounds  of  wheat  to  the  acre.  After 
the  wheat  was  cut  I  had  the  crop  removed  from  the  field  in 
order  to  give  the  clover  and  timothy  full  possession  of  the 
ground.  The  sod  is  now  strong,  and  the  grass  is  well  set.  I 
have  nine  head  of  horses  and  cattle  pasturing  in  it  now. 

BUILDINGS. 

The  house  stands  six  rods  back  from  the  main  traveled 
county  road,  running  east  and  west,  on  the  south  side  of  the 
road,  facing  north,  in  a  lot  containing  twelve  acres.  The  front 
yard  is  filled  with  shade  trees,  evergreen  and  deciduous,  and 
well  set  in  blue  grass  which  I  sowed  in  the  Spring  of  1878. 

One  lot  is  surrounded  by  a  board  fence  ;  this  lot  is  about  half 
an  acre  in  extent,  and  is  kept  for  stacking  hay.  It  adjoins  the 
feed  lots  on  two  sides,  and  the  meadow  on  the  third  side.  The 
other  fenced  lots  are  garden,  feed  lots  for  stock,  barn-yards,  etc., 
covering  from  one  to  three  acres  each. 

On  the  place,  and  conveniently  located  to  the  house,  I 
have  built  one  wheat  granary  twelve  by  thirty-four  feet,  and 
ten  feet  high.  I  have  a  barn  sixteen  feet  by  thirty-two  feet, 
used  exclusively  for  a  stable,  with  a  hayloft  in  the  upper  story. 


BUILDINGS.  351 

The  corn  house  is  twenty-five  feet  square  and  ten  feet  high.  I 
have  also  a  warehouse,  twenty-five  feet  from  the  kitchen  door, 
sixteen  feet  square,  eight  feet  high ;  a  meat-house  sixteen  by 
eighteen  feet,  ten  feet  high ;  an  ice-house  ten  feet  by  twelve 
feet,  eight  feet  deep  from  the  surface  of  the  ground.  My  smoke 
house  is  eight  by  nine  feet,  eight  feet  high.  These  buildings 
are  all  of  pine,  with  pine-shingle  roofs,  and,  with  the  exception 
of  the  corn  crib  and  ice-house,  are  weather  boarded  with  pine 
siding,  and  painted.  The  meat-house  I  was  compelled  to  use 
this  season  to  store  wheat  in. 

For  all  of  my  work  on  the  farm  I  use  the  best  modern  im- 
proved farming  implements.  With  the  design  of  storing  them, 
I  hauled  from  my  timber  tract,  some  three  miles  away,  a 
sufficient  quantity  of  posts  to  build  a  shelter.  The  larger  ones 
were  from  ten  to  fifteen  inches,  mean  diameter,  and  from  twelve 
to  eighteen  feet  in  length.  Of  these  I  built  the  framework  of 
a  shed  thirty  feet  wide  by  sixty  feet  long.  The  uprights  I  sunk 
four  and  a  half  feet  in  the  ground.  I  left  the  tops  forked,  and 
strung  heavy  poles  along  from  post  to  post,  covering  these, 
transversely,  with  lighter  hickory,  elm,  oak,  and  other  poles. 

When  I  threshed  I  had  the  straw  thrown  over  this  struc- 
ture. Thus,  with  no  pecuniary  outlay,  and  with  my  own  labor, 
I  have  a  warm,  dry  shelter  for  every  farming  implement  used 
on  my  place,  from  a  garden  hoe  to  a  reaper  and  binder.  I  may 
add  that  this  building  is  only  for  temporary  use,  as  in  the  com- 
ing season  I  have  plans  to  build  a  bank  barn  forty  by  seventy. 

FRUIT   AND    OTHER    TREES. 

In  the  lot  west  and  south  of  the  house,  about  four  thousand 
budded  and  grafted  fruit  trees  are  growing,  which  comprise  the 
best  varieties  of  fruits  common  to  our  climate — apples,  peaches, 
pears,  apricots,  cherries,  and  plums.  I  have  one  acre  in  small 
fruits,  such  as  grapes  trellised  on  posts  and  wired,  currants, 
blackberries,  raspberries,  gooseberries  and  strawberries. 

I  planted  in  one  lot  of  two  acres  in  the  Spring  of  1878, 
several  bushels  of  peach  stones,  which  I  had  saved  from  the 
previous  year.  These  I  planted  in  rows  seven  feet  apart,  the 


352  DONIPHAN  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

seeds  about  ten  inches  apart  in  the  rows.  I  have  now  from 
these  seeds,  several  thousand  seedling  peach  trees  in  the  grove, 
averaging  at  this  writing  about  two  inches  in  diameter.  In  the 
same  Spring,  with  seed  I  procured  from  Ohio,  I  planted  two 
hundred  butternuts.  These  have  now  attained  a  handsome 
growth,  are  thriving  in  appearance,  and  take  to  the  soil  and 
climate  well.  They  average  about  four  feet  in  night.  I  have 
also  growing  a  grove  of  soft  maples,  about  one  thousand  in 
number.  These  have  attained  a  wonderful  growth  in  girth  and 
hight.  I  expect  these  trees  in  the  near  future  to  furnish  all 
the  fuel  necessary  for  use.  I  have  planted  the  peach  trees  so 
close  together  that  they  may  acquire  a  straight,  high  growth 
before  I  thin  them  out.  I  grow  them  for  the  sake  of  the  wood, 
and  not  for  the  fruit,  though,  when  they  begin  to  be:*r,  I  shall 
turn  my  hogs  among  them  to  consume  it.  By  that  time,  the 
trees  will  have  attained  such  a  strong,  firm  growth,  as  not  to  be 
injured  by  the  swine. 

As  rapidly  as  possible  I  shall  change  my  farm  from  grain 
to  grass,  devoting  it  exclusively  to  breeding  and  raising  fine 
cattle  and  hogs.  Since  my  residence  here  I  have  been  selling 
in  the  adjoining  towns  from  twelve  to  twenty  pounds  of  butter 
weekly,  and  eggs  without  number.  I  have  made  all  the 
improvements  from  the  income  of  the  place  itself.  At  no  time 
have  I  taken  capital  or  means  derived  from  outside  sources  to 
add  to  the  farm.  By  careful  attention  to  the  various  seasons 
and  their  needs,  by  prudently  husbanding  our  resources  of  labor 
and  results,  and  having  tasks  for  each  day,  without  regard  to 
weather,  we  hope  to  demonstrate  that  there  is  no  safer,  surer 
road  to  competence  and  comfort  than  by  means  of  an  average- 
sized  Kansas  farms. 

THE   INCOME. 

It  might  not  be  amiss  at  this  point,  to  speak  of  the  income 
of  the  farm  for  the  two  seasons  I  have  been  myself  in  pos- 
session. In  the  year  1878  I  raised  as  my  share  of  the  crop, 
3,000  bushels  of  corn,  of  which  I  sold  2,000  bushels  at  twenty- 
six  cents  per  bushel,  bringing  me  $520.  I  sold  $190  worth  of 


THE  INCOME.  353 

hogs,  and  600  bushels  of  wheat  at  $1.00  per  bushel,  and  $200 
worth  of  sundry  other  products,  making  a  cash  income  of 
$1,510  for  the  first  year,  besides  retaining  sufficient  corn,  wheat, 
and  other  farm  products,  for  my  own  family  use.  As  I  had  let 
out  a  part  of  the  farm  to  neighbors  to  work  on  shares,  my  total 
outlay  for  hired  labor  for  the  year  was  less  than  $200,  leaving 
me  a  net  income  of  $1,310. 

For  the  year  1879,  with  the  2,130  bushels  of  wheat  which 
I  raised  myself,  and  the  wheat  paid  me  by  renters,  I  have. in 
my  granaries  2,400  bushels  of  Fall  wheat,  worth  at  present 
market  rates  $2,400.  I  have  sold  already  $200  worth  of  hogs, 
and  have  ready  to  sell  thirty-four  head,  worth  $200,  making 
for  this  year  an  income  of  $2,800,  not  including  butter,  eggs, 
and  other  farm  products  disposed  of,  which  of  themselves  add 
much  toward  the  support  of  the  family.  Again  I  rented  out  on 
shares  such  part  of  the  farm  as  myself  and  my  son,  a  boy  of 
seventeen  years,  could  not  work,  and  my  expenses  for  labor 
were  no  greater  than  last  3rear,  leaving  me  a  net  income  of 
$2,600,  or  double  that  of  the  first  year.  It  may  not  be  possi- 
ble to  increase  the  income  from  a  farm  each  succeeding  year  at 
a  like  rate  ,  but  by  a  careful  study  of  improved  methods,  by  a 
comparison  of  the  experiences  of  intelligent  farmers  who  take 
pride  in  their  profession,  and  by  adapting  and  using  every 
known  process  to  increase  the  yield  of  land,  and  improve  the 
soil,  the  product  of  my  labors  for  the  past  year  can  always  be 
equaled  if  not  surpassed.  I  have  profited  by.my  own  experi- 
ence, and  I  believe  that  I  shall  be  rewarded  by  still  greater 
results. 

*3 


354  NEMAHA  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

JOHN   HODGINS, 

CENTRALIA,  NEMAHA  COUNTY. 

Took  Horace  G-reeley^s  Advice  —  Adventure  with  The  Indians  — 
Seven  Thousand  Trees  —  Beautiful  G-rove  and  Park  — 
Method  of  Tree  Culture  —  Corn  the  Best  Crop  —  Raising 
Poultry  Profitable. 

Raised  a  farmer  on  land  worth  one  hundred  dollars  an 
acre,  in  1860  the  writer  was  one  of  the  landless  young  men  of 
Eastern  New  York,  to  whom  the  honored  Greeley  tendered  the 
advice,  "  Go  West,  young  man,  and  procure  land  for  a  home." 
Acting  upon  this  advice  I  came  here,  and  made  a  selection 
near  the  center  of  Nemaha  county,  Kansas,  then  a  trackless 
wild,  with  only  a  few  settlers  on  timbered  claims  along  the 
streams.  The  same  Spring  I  broke  fifteen  acres  and  planted  it 
to  sod  corn,  and  one  acre,  which  was  a  mellow  spot,  to  potatoes 
and  garden  stuff.  Crops  were  a  total  failure  that  year,  as  we 
had  only  one  light  shower  from  April  until  September.  I  will 
relate  an  incident  which  happened  to  me  at  that  time.  I  was 
working  in  my  potato  patch  with  my  head  down,  hoeing  a  few 
potatoes  about  as  large  as  almonds,  when  I  was  startled  by  a 
most  unearthly  -whoop.  On  raising  my  head  I  saw  forty 
Indians  riding  in  a  semi-circle  toward  me,  with  over  a  hundred 
more  in  the  background.  They  were  dressed  in  buckskin  and 
bright  colored  blankets,  and  being  unused  to  the  sight  of  Indians, 
I  knew  not  what  tactics  to  pursue.  I  looked  at  the  house, 
which  contained  my  young  wife  and  child,  like  Scott's  chief- 
tain looking  at  the  sun  before  his  battle  with  King  James,  as  a 
sight  he  might  never  more  see.  I  walked  up  to  the  leader, 
raised  my  hat  and  bowed  as  I  would  to  an  (Eastern  Nabob,  and 
as  I  extended  my  hand,  he  smiled,  and  we  shook  hands  like 
old  friends.  I  showed  him  my  potatoes.  He  laughed  and  told 
me  in  plain  English  that  he  was  over  forty  years  old  and  that 


PLAN  OF  FARM  AND  BUILDINGS. 


355 


How  of  frees®  two  rods  apart 


356  NEMAHA  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

he  never  saw.so  dry  a  year  before.    .They  were  Pottawattomies, 
returning  from  a  buffalo  hunt,  laden  with  dried  meats. 

'IMPROVEMENT. 

The  next  year  was  a  good  one,  and  I  laid  out  my  farm,  like  the 
plat,  and  commenced  planting  trees.  Every  farm  house  should 
stand  three  hundred  feet  or  more  from  the  public  road.  Mine 
is  thirty  rods,  and  every  person  making  a  home  should  plant 
groves  and  orchards  around  his  dwelling.  Strangers  often  call 
at  my  place  and  almost  invariably  say  to  me  "  you  have  a 
beautiful  home."  This  affords  some  of  the  pleasure  we  need 
to  cheer  us  on  in  the  pathway  of  life,  for  it  is  true  that,  Omne 
tulit  punctum  qui  miscuit  utile  dulci.  My  groves  and  park 
contain  seven  thousand  trees,  and  include  the  following  varie- 
ties: Red  elm,  white  elm,  ash,  yellow  cottonwood,  white 
cotton  wood,  hackberry,  tamarack,  Lombardy  poplar,  white 
maple,  sugar  maple,  coffee  nut,  black  walnut,  red  oak,  rock 
oak,  box  elder,  honey  locust,  red  locust,  wild  cherry,  thorn 
-apple,  silver  aspen,  magnolia,  red-bud,  buckeye,  ailanthus, 
oatalpa,  wahoo  tulip,  willow,  sycamore,  Osage  orange,  Norway 
pine,  Norway  spruce,  Austrian  pine  and  red  cedar.  My  park 
contains  some  fine  roses  and  flowering  shrubs  ;  the  majority  of 
the  trees  are  from  fifteen  to  thirty  feet  high.  My  orchard  con- 
tains five  hundred  apple  trees,  mostly  bearing ;  also  one  hundred 
peach  trees,  seventy-five  cherry  trees,  a  few  pear  and  plum 
trees.  My  home  can  be  seen  from  some  directions  the 
•distance  of  twenty-five  miles.  The  altitude  of  this  farm,  and 
also  the  general  altitude  of  this  county  is  two  thousand  five 
hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  chemical  analysis 
of  the  soil  in  its  properties  as  plant  food  will  compare  favorably 
with  any  other  portion  of  our  country,  and  is  as  follows :  In 
one  hundred  parts  of  average  soil  taken  from  upland  and  valley, 
lime  eight  parts ;  magnesia  two ;  oxide  of  iron  two ;  silica 
fifty-two  ;  potassa  two  ;  alumina- ten;  phosphoric  acid  three; 
organic  matter  sixteen ;  soda,  sulphuric  acid  and  nitric  acid 
five.  Some  author  has  told  us  that  order  was  the  first  law  of 
heaven,  and  we  see  with  what  perfect  order  nature  works 


CROP  —  STOCK  —  METHODS.  357 

around  us,  and  in  this,  the  noblest  and  best  occupation  on  earth* 
farming,  we  should  adopt  system  and  order  in  our  operations. 

CROPS. 

I  practice  rotation  of  crops ,-  follow  corn  with  small 
grain,  and  Summer  fallow  every  third  or  fourth  year.  I  save 
all  the  manure,  and  put  it  on  the  land.  I  have  raised  .ill  the 
crops  usually  grown  in  this  latitude.  The  corn  crop  pays  tlio 
best.  In  1865  I  was  appointed  correspondent  for  the  United 
States  Department  of  Agriculture  by  Commissioner  Newton, 
and  am  still  continued  to  this  date.  I  have  received  seeds  of 
all  the  improved  cereals  and  vegetables,  also  grass,  trees,  pota- 
toes and  artichokes,  and  have  carefully  tested  them,  and  sent 
them  abroad  over  the  county.  The  Department  is  doing  a 
good  work,  notwithstanding  the  slurs  thrown  upon  it  by  many 
newspapers.  It  should  receive  more  liberal  help  from  Congress. 

STOCK. 

I  feed  all  my  grain  to  cattle,  hogs,  horses,  and  fowls.  I 
am  familiar  with  many  of  the  popular  breeds  of  cattle  and  hogs, 
but  prefer  the  Durham  cattle  for  beeves,  and  the  Ayrshires  for 
milk  and  butter.  A  cross  between  the  Berkshire  and  Poland 
China  hogs  gives  good  results.  If  hogs  are  to  be  kept  over 
one  year,  get  Poland  China,  if  they  are  to  be  killed  at  one  year 
or  under,  the  Berkshires  are  the  best. 

METHODS. 

My  plan  with  cattle  is  to  select  smooth,  straight,  thrifty 
native  cows,  regardless  of  their  milking  qualities,  and  cross  with  a 
Durham  bull.  This  makes  the  most  profitable  grade  of  cattle 
for  a  small  outlay  of  money.  I  keep  about  forty  head  of  cattle, 
seven  or  eight  horses,  and  a  few  hogs.  My  children  raise  from 
four  hundred  to  seven  hundred  fowls  every  year.  I  have  a  large 
rack  in  my  stock  yard,  and  keep  it  filled  with  hay  or  straw.  The 
cattle  will  eat  night  and  day.  I  give  my  domestic  animals  all  the 
salt  they  want  the  year  around.  I  raised  twelve  tons  of  Mangel 
Wurtzels  one  year,  and  thought  they  were  a  paying  crop,  even  in 
this  land  of  corn.  I  milk  from  twelve  to  fifteen  of  our  best  cows, 


358  NEMAHA  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

and  make  butter.  For  many  years  past  I  have  received  three  or 
four  cents  above  the  market  price  per  pound  for  our  butter. 
The  milk  is  set  in  tin  pans  in  a  cool  cellar,  and  nothing  is 
allowed  in  the  cellar  that  has  the  slightest  odor.  Skim  milk 
as  soon  as  it  changes.  I  have  a  tin  cooler  for  the  cream,  and 
cool  it  to  sixty-two  degrees,  then  churn  it.  Work  it  over. 
Add  one  and  a  quarter  ounces  of  dairy  salt  to  one  pound  of  butter. 
I  work  in  the  salt  and  do  not  put  any  water  on  it.  I  let  some 
calves  suck  the  cow.  Generally  the  calves  which  I  raise  on 
sour  milk  make  as  good  yearlings  as  the  others.  Calves  must 
be  fed  some  grain  or  roots,  or  both,  in  addition  to  good  hay,during 
the  first  Winter,  in  order  to  keep  them  growing,  and  to  make 
thrifty  cattle.  If  any  of  my  stock  becomes  infected  with  lice, 
I  wash  the  parts  most  troubled  with  water  that  potatoes  have 
been  boiled  in.  The  lice  will  soon  disappear.  Black  leg  in 
cattle  can  be  cured  by  bleeding  them  in  the  hind  feet.  Cut  a 
perpendicular  gash  on  the  side  of  the  heel  between  the  hoof 
and  the  dew  claws,  and  rub  down  the  animal's  leg  until  the 
blood  starts  freely.  If  this  is  done  before  the  disease  is  far 
advanced,  it  will  save  the  animal. 

HOESES. 

When  my  brood  mares  are  taken  from  the  grass  into  Win- 
ter quarters,  I  feed  them  a  liberal  mess  of  carrots,  potatoes,  or 
cabbages,  once  a  day,  and  a  moderate  mess  of  grain  twice  a 
day  ;  also  give  a  teaspoonful  of  soda  twice  a  week.  Wean  the 
colts  at  seven  months  old ;  a  month  earlier  if  the  mares  work. . 
Handle  them  very  patiently  and  gently,  and  break  them 
to  the  halter.  Never  let  them  break  loose  after  once  haltered, 
for  here  the  education  of  the  horse  begins.  It  is  wonderful 
the  number  of  young  horses  that  are  spoiled  by  bad  treatment. 
Brother  farmers,  exercise  patience,  kindness  and  judgment 
towards  all  animals,  and  yourselves,  they,  and  the  world  will 
be  better  for  it. 

POULTRY. 

Raising  fowls  is  good  employment  for  children  if  superin- 
tended by  older  heads.     I  raise  large  numbers,  and  have  never 


POULTRY— FRUIT  TREES.  359 

lost  any  by  disease.  The  Black  Spanish  are  the  best  layers. 
The  Brahmas  make  the  heaviest  birds,  but  all  things  considered 
I  prefer  the  common  dung-hill  fowls,  and  these  may  be  very 
much  improved  by  judicious  management,  as  well  as  may  all 
other  live  stock. 

Give  the  chickens  clean  quarters,  plenty  of  grain,  and  wood 
ashes  or  sand  to  roll  in.  Coal,  gravel,  burned  bones,  and  plenty 
of  fresh,  cool,  clean  water,  with  a  grass  run  are  necessary  to 
health.  Select  the  first  laid  and  largest  eggs  for  hatching,  and 
sprinkle  a  teaspoonful  of  sulphur  over  the  eggs  when  put  in 
the  nest  to  hatch.  Feed  the  chicks  when  ten  hours  old,  dry, 
coarse  Indian  meal.  When  one  week  old  and  afterwards,  feed 
them  in  addition  to  the  meal,  thick  sour  milk. 

FRUIT  TREES. 

My  method  of  raising  fruit  trees  is  as  follows :  I  prefer 
low  heads,  trimmed  into  shape  when  small,  and  never  much 
afterwards.  Wash  the  trees  twice  a  year  with  soap,  reduced  to 
the  consistency  of  paint  with  water,  and  three  pounds  of  sul- 
phur stirred  into  four  gallons  of  the  liquid.  Follow  this  for 
ten  years.  Cultivate,  but  do  not  crop  the  ground  ;  when  the 
trees  first  blossom,  manure  the  ground  and  seed  it  down  to 
grass. 


R.  L.  GILBERT, 

CHESTER,   JEFFERSON  COUNTY. 

Delaware  Reserve  —  Stock  —  Care  and  Feed  of  Sheep  —  Fruit. 

The  eastern  part  of  Jefferson  county,  Kan.,  is  rough  and 
broken.  A  quarter  section,  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  that 
can  all  be  broken  and  cultivated,  is  rare.  But  there  are  from  thirty 
to  fifty  acres  in  nearly  every  eighty,  that  is  good  farming  land. 
We  can  grow  good  crops  of  wheat  and  corn.  Wheat  yields 


360  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

on  an  average  from  fifteen  to  thirty  bushels  per  acre,  and  corn 
from  twenty-five  to  eighty  bushels  per  acre.  The  bottom 
lands  are  best  adapted  to  wheat,  although  good  crops  are  some- 
times raised  on  the  prairies.  The  farmers  in  this  vicinity  raise 
mostly  hogs  and  cattle.  Some  raise  nothing  but  corn  and 
haul  it  away  to  the  nearest  market,  but  such  farmers  scarcely 
make  a  living. 

FARMS. 

Plenty  of  farms  can  be  found  here  for  sale.  The  great 
drawback  of  this  country  is  the  money-lender  and  his  exorbi- 
tant per  cent.  This  Delaware  reserve  was  opened  for  settle- 
ment about  fifteen  years  ago.  Land  purchased  of  the  railroad 
company  cost  from  three  to  six  dollars  per  acre,  on  time.  Men 
of  small  means  were  doing  very  well,  and  were  building,  clear- 
ing and  fencing,  each  year  adding  a  few  more  acres  to  their 
farms,  when  the  drouth  and  grasshoppers  in  1874  and  1875 
came.  A  little  money  was  borrowed  to  help  them  pull  through, 
but  the  times  got  worse,  crops  were  poor,  and  the  little  money 
borrowed  soon  became  a  great  deal.  The  mortgage  was  fore- 
closed, the  place  taken  for  a  few  hundred  dollars,  and  the 
owner  started  for  other  lands,  poorer  than  when  he  came  here. 
The  result  of  this  is,  that  most  of  the  farms  are  owned  by 
speculators.  Renters  live  on  them,  and  no  improvements  are 
made.  They  are  offered  for  sale,  and  can  be  bought  cheap ; 
therefore  there  are  very  few  good  buildings  on  any  of  them. 

STOCK. 

We  are  trying  to  improve  our  common  cattle  by  crossing 
with  the  thorough-bred  Short-Horn  bulls.  There  is  plenty  of 
range  yet  for  cattle  on  the  prairies,  but  the  bottom  lands 
are  most  all  fenced  up.  Our  choice  of  hogs  is  the  Berkshire 
and  also  the  Poland  China. 

SHEEP. 

I  concluded  three  years  ago,  that  I  would  try  raising  a  few 
sheep.  I  bought  seven.  I  took  good  care  of  them  the  first  Winter, 


CARE  AND  FEED  OP  SHEEP.  361 

and  they  had  three  lambs  in  the  Spring.  I  next  bought  a  thor- 
ough-bred Cots  wold  buck.  Last  Spring  I  sheared  from  a  ewe 
lamb  ten  pounds  of  nice  wool  about  nine  inches  in  length.  I 
have  at  the  present  time  sixteen  head  of  half-breeds,  which 
will,  I  think,  shear  next  Spring  on  an  average,  nine  pounds. 
Some  of  them  are  now  larger  than  the  old  ewes.  For  mutton 
and  wool  I  think  the  cross  I  am  making,  for  this  country,  unex- 
celled by  any  other.  My  sheep  all  appear  to  be  healthy.  Occa- 
sionally in  the  Summer,  after  much  rain  has  fallen,  they  have  a 
cough  and  a  running  at  the  nose,  but  they  soon  recover.  I 
have  lost  but  three  in  three  years,  and  two  of  them  died  of  old 
age.  The  other  died  from  an  overflow  of  the  gall,  as  it  was 
too  fat. 

The  greatest  foe  to  sheep  here  are  the  dogs.  While  every 
farmer  has  from  one  to  six  dogs,  there  are  but  three  in  a  township 
four  and  a  half  miles  wide  by  seven  miles  long,  who  keep  any 
sheep.  So  we  have  to  watch  all  those  dogs,  and  are  obliged  to 
shut  our  sheep  up  nights  in  a  lot  which  is  twelve  rails  high.  I 
have  open  sheds  for  them  to  run  under  as  they  please,  and  the 
woods  afford  pasture  for  their  range  in  Summer.  After  wheat 
is  harvested  I  turn  them  in  on  the  stubble,  where  they  run  from 
two  to  three  months.  I  am  now  trying  to  get  my  pasture 
seeded  to  blue  grass,  but  have  not  as  yet  made  much  of  a 
start  in  that  direction. 

CARE  AND  FEED   OF   SHEEP. 

In  the  Winter  I  feed  corn  fodder  with  the  corn  on,  once  a 
day,  and  provide  all  the  corn  fodder  they  can  eat  at  night.  I 
sometimes  feed  a  few  sheaf  oats,  and  they  have  straw  to  eat 
when  they  want  it,  also  have  access  to  water.  My  lambs  begin 
to  come  about  the  first  of  February.  I  separate  the  young 
lambs  and  ewes  till  they  get  strong.  I  feed  each  ewe  bran 
twice  a  day,  with  oats  added,  and  they  seem  to  grow  steadily, 
and  by  the  time  that  grass  begins  to  appear,  they  are  large 
enough  to  turn  out  and  go  to  eating.  By  the  next  Winter  they 
go  through  like  an  old  sheep.  I  have  now  thirty-nine  in  my 
flock.  I  intend  keeping  about  fifty  ewes,  and  shall  sell  off  all 


362  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

the  poor  and  old  ones  to  the  butcher.     I  hope  to  have  in  a 
few  years  a  flock  as  good  as  the  best  of  sheep-raisers. 

FRUIT. 

Fourteen  years  ago  I  planted  an  orchard  of  one  hundred 
apple  trees  in  the  bottom  of  a  small  creek  running  through  the 
farm.  The  trees  seemed  to  grow  very  well,  but  I  have  only 
gathered  one  crop  of  fruit  from  that  orchard.  Ten  years  ago  I 
selected  a  location  on  the  prairie,  just  above  a  limestone  ledge 
of  rocks  sloping  to  the  northwest,  and  have  now  over  seven 
hundred  trees.  About  half  of  them  have  borne  well  for  the 
last  three  years.  The  two  great  pests  of  the  orchard  are  the 
borer  and  the  rabbit.  The  former  I  keep  down  by  constant 
watching.  I  always  carry  a  sharp  knife  along,  and  whenever 
I  see  him  at  work  I  cut  him  out  at  once.  I  have  lost  but  a 
few  trees,  but  have  seen  whole  orchards  entirely  destroyed 
by  them  in  a  few  years  where  they  have  been  allowed  to  work. 
The  only  certain  plan  with  the  rabbit  is  to  bind  the  trees  up 
with  corn  stalks  or  paper. 

APPLES  — VARIETIES. 

I  plant  my  trees  eighteen  feet  apart  each  way  and  culti- 
vate both  ways.  Every  year  I  plant  with  corn  or  potatoes.  I  do  not 
favor  sowing  small  grain  in  an  orchard,  as  it  seems  to  stunt  the 
trees.  Part  of  this  I  have  seeded  to  clover,  and  have  a  good 
stand.  Next  Spring  I  intend  to  seed  down  the  rest,  as  the 
trees  are  getting  too  large  to  plough  through. 

After  twenty-four  years'  residence  in  the  State,  I  find  the 
climate  favorable  for  apples.  The  Early  Harvest,  Sweet  June, 
and  Red  June,  answer  best  for  early  apples  ;  for  Fall,  the 
Maiden  Blush  and  Rambo  ;  for  early  Winter,  Jonathan  (one  of 
the  best  apples  ever  grown)  ;  and  for  the  Winter,  the  Winesap, 
Ben.  Davis,  Willow  Twig,  and  Jenniton,  are  admirable.  The 
great  mistake  which  new  beginners  in  the  fruit  line  make  is, 
that  they  plant  too'  many  varieties.  For  blackberries  we  have 
the  Kittatinny  and  the  Wilson.  Last  Winter  these  were  killed 
to  the  snow  line.  I  shall  next  try  the  Snyder. 


FARMING  AND  STOCK -RAISING.  363 

EZRA   CRANE, 

STAFFORD,    STAFFORD    COUNTY. 

Feeding  —  Corn  —  Clod -Crusher  —  Plans  —  Potatoes — 
Wheat  —  Hogs. 

My  farm  joins  the  town  of  Stafford  and  embraces  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty  acres,  all  under  cultivation.  The  soil  is  a  black, 
sandy  loam,  six  and  one-half  feet  in  depth,  underlaid  with  a  sub- 
soil which  is  a  mixture  of  gypsum,  sand,  and  grayish-brown  clay 
extending  to  water,  which  is  found  at  a  depth  of  twenty  feet  in 
sand  and  gravel.  Having  had  nearly  eleven  years'  experience 
in  farming  and  stock-raising  in  Kansas,  I  think  I  pretty  thor- 
oughly understand  what  is  required  to  make  either  or  both 
a  success.  I  have  found  that  the  two  occupations  are  more 
remunerative  when  combined  than  either  one  can  be  made 
separately.  Every  well  managed  farm  can  be  made  to 
support  quite  a  herd  of  cattle,  sheep,  and  horses,  by  simply 
utilizing  the  corn  stalks,  straw,  etc.,  that  would  otherwise  go 
to  waste,  with  the  addition  of  a  trifling  quantity  of  roots, 
pumpkins,  and  millet.  Although  corn  and  wheat  are  the  crops 
chiefly  relied  on  to  make  money  in  Kansas,  I  find  it  the 
best  policy  to  supplement  them  with  a  few  acres  of  potatoes, 
beans,  Mexican  peas,  peanuts,  sorghum,  and  rice  corn,  which 
require  no  more  cultivation  than  that  usually  given  Indian 
corn.  Potatoes  should  always  be  boiled  for  hogs  or  milch 
cows  ;  when  given  to  milch  cows,  they  should  be  salted  slightly, 
and  a  small  quantity  of  meal  added  to  the  first  three  or  four 
messes,  or  till  the  animal  has  cultivated  an  appetite  for  them. 
As  a  laxative  and  appetizing  food  for  work  horses,  which  are 
kept  much  in  the  stable  or  have  not  an  opportunity  to  graze, 
or  for  debilitated,  over-worked,  fevered  and  constipated  ani- 
mals, they  are  excellent.  The  only  objection  is,  that  it  requires 
some  patience  and  perseverance  to  teach  a  horse  to  eat  them, 


364  STAFFORD  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

though  the  same  may  be  said  in  regard  to  feeding  pumpkins, 
peas,  and  the  different  roots  ;  but  nothing  will  pay  better,  when 
we  come  to  count  the  skeletons  of  the  horses  that  have  died 
prematurely  from  being  fed  continually  on  corn  and  hay. 
Thousands  die  when  they  should  have  really  but  reached  their 
prime  of  life,  and  tens  of  thousands  more  are  stiffened,  dis- 
eased, and  rendered  almost  worthless.  Corn  is  good  when  fed 
in  connection  with  plenty  of  roots  and  green  forage.  It  should 
always  be  soaked  at  least  twenty-four  hours,  as  this  destroys 
much  of  its  fiery  nature.  Now  for  some  of  my  methods. 

CORN. 

For  corn,  I  plow  my  ground  in  the  Fall  (if  it  can  possi- 
bly be  done),  from  seven  to  ten  inches  deep,  leaving  the 
ground  rather  rough.  In  the  Spring,  say  the  first  of  April 
here  in  Kansas,  I  run  my  granger  harrow  or  drag  over  it, 
smoothing  it  down  perfectly  level.  I  then  plant  in  rows  four 
feet  apart  each  way,  and  cultivate  three  or  four  times  with  cul- 
tivator, laying  it  by  before  the  tassel  appears.  If,  after  the 
tassel  appears,  the  hot,  dry  winds  set  in,  and  every  thing  indi- 
cates a  protracted  drouth,  I  muster  nil  the  old  ground  or  com- 
mon two-horse  stirring  plows  I  can  find  (the  ordinary  one-horse 
bar  plow  will  do  if  one  has  plenty  of  them),  hitch  a  large, 
heavy  horse  to  each,  and  bank  up  a  regular  sweet  potato  ridge 
to  each  row  of  corn.  This  extra  coat  of  dirt  acts  as  a  mulch 
and  protection  to  the  roots  and  brace  roots,  and  corn  treated 
this  way  will  remain  green  and  ear  well  in  this  State,  while 
that  which  has  been  cultivated  perfectly  level,  will  fire  and 
perish.  I  raised  an  average  corn  crop,  of  excellent  quality,  in 
1874,  when  all  my  neighbors  failed.  How  this  would  work  in 
other  States  I  am  unable  to  say.  My  harrow  or  clod  crusher, 
mentioned  above,  is  made  after  the  following  manner:  Take 
three  4x4  scantling  six  feet  long,  slope  off  the  front  ends  like 
the  runners  of  a  sled,  then  begin  at  the  rear  end  and  nail  on 
common  fence  plank  seven  feet  long,  lapping  them  one  and  a 
half  inches  after  the  manner  of  siding  a  house ;  bore  a  hole 
in  the  center  timber  and  attach  a  clevis ;  then  spike  on  an  up- 


PLAN  OF  FARM  AND  BUILDINGS. 


365 


7\A  A/  V\A/VV  VWVWVX  A/  \/K  A  A  AAAA  AA  A  A  AA  A  A  A  A/WV 


366  STAFFORD  COUNTY,  KANSAS 

right  piece  eighteen  inches  long  to  each  scantling,  and  spike  a 
board  on  top,  and  you  have  the  right  size  for  two  heavy  horses. 
If  you  want  one  for  three  or  four  horses,  make  it  proportion- 
ately large.  This  apparatus  will  far  excel  an  ordinary  roller  if 
the  clods  are  very  dry  and  hard,  and  no  man  who  has  ever  tried 
it  will  be  without  one. 

POTATOES. 

For  potatoes  I  plow  the  ground,  if  possible,  in  the  Fall, 
the  same  as  I  would  for  corn,  and  then  again  in  the  Spring.  I 
plow  as  deeply  as  a  common  plow  can  be  made  to  run.  I  cut 
my  seed  very  small,  one  eye  in  a  piece,  and  plant  in  drills  three 
feet  apart,  the  pieces  twelve  inches  apart  in  the  dnll.  I  cover 
with  two-horse  plow,  turning  them  under  seven  inches  deep, 
and  cultivate  once  a  week  till  the  blossoms  appear.  I  have 
raised  peachblow  potatoes  weighing  two  and  one-half  pounds 
in  this  manner.  Should  too  many  sprouts  or  too  many  side  vines 
appear,  it  is  of  most  vital  importance  to  pull  them  out. 

WHEAT. 

For  wheat  I  plow  as  soon  after  harvest  as  possible,  stirring 
the  ground  to  a  depth  of  six  to  eight  inches.  Deeper  than  that 
is  unnecessary  if  not  positively  injurious,  as  the  wheat  in  this 
country  must  positively  have  a  hard  bottom  on  which  to  root. 
This  fact  has  been  pretty  well  established  in  Kansas  since  1874. 
I  have  at  the  present  time  one  hundred  and  eighty  acres  of 
growing  wheat,  of  which  fifty-five  are  Mediterranean,  five  are 
Fultz,  and  the  remainder  Red  May.  These  varieties  succeed 
best  here.  I  am  satisfied  that  it  is  very  necessary  to  thor- 
oughly pulverize  the  ground  for  wheat,  as  well  as  for  any  other 
crop.  No  growing  crop  obtains  aliment  from  clods.  I  place  a 
few  dozen  bricks  in  my  wheat  bins  to  absorb  all  moisture. 

HOGS. 

I  give  you  the  plan  of  one  of  my  farms,  also  my  plan 
for  hog  pens  and  my  views  concerning  the  care  of  swine.  I 
floor  all  my  pens,  roofing  one-half  and  letting  the  other  half  be 
open  to  sunshine,  for  hogs  will  neither  grow  nor  fatten  in  a 


CARE   OF  HOGS.  367 

dark  place.  I  do  not  allow  the  hog  to  eat  his  own  excrement, 
nor  to  inhale  the  stench  arising  from  it.  I  clean  all  pens  regu- 
larly, giving  plenty  of  bedding  and  changing  it  often  in  cold 
weather.  I  do  not  crowd  too  many  in  one  pen  when  fattening. 
1  cook  all  food,  if  possible,  for  I  am  satisfied  that  sixty  pounds 
of  cooked  or  scalded  meal  are  equal  to  (that  is,  will  make  as 
much  pork  as)  one  hundred  pounds  of  raw  corn.  All  hogs 
should  have  an  abundance  of  salt.  I  am  well  convinced  that 
no  hog  will  ever  have  cholera  if  he  has  as  much  salt  as  he 
requires.  Any  one  observing  the  above  rules  will  seldom  have 
a  sick  animal,  or  one  that  will  fail  to  fatten.  Sows  heavy  with 
pig,  should  have  a  separate  pen,  and  in  size  eight  feet  square. 
Spike  a*  2x4  scantling  all  around  on  the  inside  of  pen  ten 
inches  from  the  floor  and  the  same  distance  from  the  wall.  This 
will  give  the  pigs  a  chance  at  birth  to  escape  overlaying.  For 
watering  I  prefer  a  continuous  stream  running  through  a  suc- 
cession of  6x10  inch  troughs ;  the  pens  running  in  a  row  any 
desired  length.  Twelve  dollars  will  furnish  lumber  and  iron 
with  which  any  common  farmer  can  make  a  mill  that  will  work 
a  common  well  pump,  which  will  furnish  water  for  five  hun- 
dred hogs.  For  stock  hogs  running  in  a  pasture,  it  is  advisable 
to  keep  a  barrel  or  box  of  rock  salt  standing  where  the  brine 
will  leach  and  saturate  the  earth  for  several  feet  around.  Hogs 
will  lick  this  brine  and  earth,  but  will  seldom  eat  salt  in  bulk, 
as  cattle  will.  I  consider  this  an  infallible  preventive  of 
cholera.  I  never  had  a  hog  take  that  disease,  although  it  has 
slain  its  hundreds  around  me. 


368  HARVEY  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

GEORGE  S.  FUNK, 

HIGHLAND,    HARVEY    COUNTY. 

Makes  Butter  —  Finds  it  Profitable — Prefers  Graded   Cows  — 
Alternates   Grain  with  Stock. 

My  farm  is  situated  in  Richland  township,  Harvey  county, 
Kan.  Three  quarters  of  a  section  are  occupied.  The  reason  I 
selected  it  in  this  shape  was,  that  I  might  obtain  running  water 
on  each  eighty  acre  tract,  which  is  quite  a  convenience  in 
mixed  husbandry. 

OUT-BUILDINGS. 

My  buildings  are  located  quite  near  to  a  spring  stream  ;  in 
fact,  it-runs  through  the  barn-yard,  which  is  a  great  advantage 
in  watering  stock.  The  buildings  are  composed  of  a  house 
twenty-four  by  sixteen,  with  a  kitchen  sixteen  by  sixteen,  a 
barn  thirty-eight  by  thirty-eight,  built  expressly  for  the  shelter 
of  stock,  and  arranged  conveniently  for  that  purpose.  In 
extreme  cold  weather  I  have  comfortably  stabled  thirty-five 
head  of  cattle  and  ten  head  of  horses.  My  granaries,  corn 
cribs,  hog  pens,  etc.,  are  as  yet  but  temporary. 

HEDGE   FENCES. 

I  have  the  whole  farm  enclosed  with  a  hedge  fence,  and 
divided  into  fields  convenient  for  grain-raising  and  pasture  at 
the  same  time.  I  have  two  hundred  acres  under  cultivation, 
and  the  remainder  is  fenced  separately  for  pasture,  and  has  run- 
ning water  and  plenty  of  timber  for  shelter  in  Winter,  and 

shade  in  Summer. 

BUTTER. 

1  have  given  the  subject  of  butter-making  the  greater  por- 
tion of  my  time  and  attention.  My  plan  of  operations  is:  To 
keep  from  ten  to  fifteen  cows,  always  selecting  from  the  herd 
the  best  butter  makers,  and  allowing  those  which  I  consider 
inferior  to  raise  their  calves.  I  have  averaged  during  the  last 


GRADED  COWS  — GRAIN  AND  STOCK.  369 

four  years  twenty-two  hundred  pounds  of  butter  per  year  from 
twelve  cows.  For  this  butter  I  realized  twenty-one  and  one- 
half  cents  per  pound. 

Butter  making  is  profitable  at  twenty  cents  per  pound  in 
this  Western  country,  where  feed  is  plenty  and  cheap. 

GRADED  COWS. 

We  keep  graded  cows,  and  try  to  improve  the  stock  by 
breeding  from  a  thorough-bred  bull.  In  making  butter  I  have 
an  advantage  over  cheese  makers,  by  having  the  milk  to  raise 
my  calves  on. 

A  CELLAR  ESSENTIAL. 

I  find  the  best  and  cheapest  mode  of  creaming  the  milk  is 
to  have  a  good  cellar  in  the  first  place.  I  use  the  six  quart 
pressed  tin  pan,  instead  of  the  earthen  crock.  It  is  better  than 
the  crock,  as  it  affords  less  depth  and  more  surface,  in  order  to 
get  more  cream,  or  all  the  butter,  out  of  the  milk. 

GRAIN  AND   STOCK. 

Experience  and  observation  since  I  have  been  in  Kansas 
demonstrate  to  me  clearly  that  the  man  who  comes  here  with 
the  full  determination  of  making  himself  a  home,  one  that 
he  can  hand  down  to  his  children,  arid  brings  his  mental  facul- 
ties into  use  as  well  as  his  muscle,  will  succeed  best  by  mixing 
his  grain-raising  with  hogs,  cattle,  sheep,  and  horses.  Here 
lies  the  profit  to  a  great  extent.  With  corn  at  twenty  cents 
and  hogs  at  four  dollars  per  hundred  pounds,  there  is  certainly 
money  to  be  made. 

Our  land  is  adapted  to  the  raising  of  all  the  staple  products. 
Corn  will  average  sixty  bushels  per  acre,  oats  fifty  bushels, 
wheat  twenty -five  bushels,  barley  and  rye  the  same.  Irish  and 
sweet  potatoes  grow  abundantly  here.  The  surface  of  the 
country  is  a  beautiful  rolling  prairie,  with  ample  natural 
drainage. 

24 


370  PHILLIPS  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

ENOCH  W.   POOR, 

MYRTLE,   PHILLIPS    COUNTY. 

Started  only  with  Brains  —  Yoke  of  Texas  Steers  —  Sod  Barn  — 
Cut  Millet  Recommended  as  Excellent  Food  for  Young  Hogs. 

Myrtle  is  of  itself  but  a  cross-roads  post  office,  in  the  very 
northerly  center  of  Phillips  county,  Kansas,  only  one  and  a  half 
miles  from  the  State  line  between  Nebraska  and  Kansas.  It  is 
really  in  the  Great  Republican  valley,  being  but  seven  miles 
from  Republican  city,  the  largest  village  and  market  in  Harlan 
county,  and  situated  on  the  Republican  Valley  railroad,  while 
it  is  sixteen  and  a  half-miles  from  Phillipsburg,  the  county- 
seat  of  Phillips  county.  Our  soil  is  a  light,  deep  loam, 
containing  sand  enough  to  keep  it  dry  and  warm,  and  lime 
enough  to  make  it  extremely  fertile.  Walnut  creek,  a  small 
stream  fed  by  living  springs,  runs  across  the  west  forty  acres 
of  the  farm,  affording  splendid  water  for  all  stock  purposes, 
while  wood  enough  grows  on  the  banks  to  afford  fuel,  all  that 
is  or  will  be  needed  for  years  to  come. 

In  1873  we  landed  here,  my  wife,  three  children  and  my- 
self, with  no  team,  no  stock,  no  farming  tools,  but  a  solitary 
two  dollar  bill  for  a  capital  with  which  to  begin  farming. 
No,  I  will  not  put  it  that  way,  as  both  my  wife  and  myself  had  a 
large  capital  of  Old  Granite  State  yankee  brains  and  muscle 
to  begin  with ;  in  fact,  though  without  money,  we  were 
chuck  full  of  day's  work,  which  we  made  available  the  first 
year  as  we  had  no  team  to  use.  However,  by  dint  of  cutting 
hay  with  a  hand  scythe,  and  wood  with  a  hand  axe,  by  the 
next  Spring  (1874),  I  had  captured  a  yoke  of  Texas  steers,  a 
yoke  chain  and  breaking  plow.  With  these  I  began  break- 
ing sod,  and  by  the  last  day  of  June,  had  twenty-five  acres 
of  sod  corn  all  up  and  looking  well,  together  with  a  good 
kitchen  garden,  so  that  we  flattered  ourselves  that  we  were 


SOD  CORRAL.  371 

well  started.  We  had  also  managed  to  procure  a  good  cow,  a 
hog,  and  a  few  hens.  But  man  proposes  while  God  alone  dis- 
poses, and  the  twenty -fifth  day  of  July,  a  gentleman  arrived  in 
company  with  his  wife,  "  his  cousins,  and  his  aunts."  I  refer  to 
G.  Hopper,  Esq.,  (now  well  known  in  all  of  the  northwestern. 
States).  He  paid  us  but  a  flying  visit,  stay  ing  only  three  days* 
But  that  was  long  enough,  as  when  he  left  only  from  two  to- 
three  feet  of  bare  corn  stalks  were  all  we  could  see  of  our  twen- 
ty-five acres  of  corn,  while  our  garden,  though  "  lost  to  sight 
was  yet  to  memory  dear."  This  was  slightly  aggravating,  but 
worse,  every  neighbor  within  one  hundred  miles  was  served 
the  same.  In  fact,  this  year  he  took  all  but  our  courage,  which 
at  that  time,  would  hardly  pan  over  one-half  ounce  to  the 
bucket.  About  this  time,  my  wife  and  I  took  account  of  stock, 
and  wrote  on  the  leaves  of  the  year's  record,  "  Busted,"  and 
commenced  again  on  money  sent  us  by  kind  friends  in  the  East, 
which,  used  prudently,  lasted  us  for  a  year,  when  as  a  family 
we  again  became  self-supporting.  Since  then  we  have  Jeach 
year  raised  a  crop,  though  not  always  up  to  the  average,  and 
we  have  done  well.  To-day  we  have  a  deed  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  of  land,  and  another  one  hundred  and  sixty 
almost  ready  to  deed  as  a  timber  claim,  which  will  make  three- 
hundred  and  twenty  in  all.  I  have  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  acres  under  cultivation,  which  will  be  in  crop  this  year- 
(1880)  as  follows  :  Sixty  acres  in  corn,  thirty-five  in  wheat, 
ten  in  barley,  five  in  rye,  ten  in  grass,  millet,  and  five  in 
sorghum,  potatoes  and  truck. 

SOD  CORKAL. 

My  farming  would  be  called  mixed  husbandry,  as  we- 
devote  attention  to  horses,  cattle,  hogs,  and  grain.  Horses  I 
am  not  improving  as  I  ought.  For  cattle,  I  have  only  native 
cows,  but  Rome  was  not  built  in  a  day,  and  I  look  forward  to* 
the  near  future,  when  an  infusion  of  Short-Horn  blood  will  give? 
us  some  fine  grade  steers,  costing  no  more  to  keep  and  paying- 
a  much  larger  profit.  In  the  Summer,  which  is  here  eight 
months  of  the  year,  I  herd  on  the  broad  prairies,  costing  not 


372  PHILLIPS  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

over  twenty-five  cents  per  head  a  month,  for  a  herder. 
For  their  Winter  comfort,  I  built  a  sod  corral,  or  as  we  call  it 
here,  a  Kansas  barn,  built  on  my  own  plan.  The  north  side  of 
the  lot  was  enclosed  by  a  sod  wall  seventy  feet  long,  six  feet 
in  hight,  with  wings  on  each  end,  forty  feet  long.  Running 
south  of  them,  seven  feet  from  the  wall  on  the  inside,  I  set 
crutches,  eight  feet  out  of  the  ground,  covered  with  poles  two 
feet  apart,  and  over  these  a  coating  of  swamp  willows,  hay  and 
sod,  making  in  all  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  of  good  shedding, 
very  warm,  being  only  open  to  the  south.  The  north  side 
being  good  strong  fence,  feed  racks  are  placed  inside  against  it. 
This  barn  only  cost  seventeen  days  work  of  two  men  and  ten 
days  of  team. 

I  feed  native  hay,  corn-fodder  and  millet  alternate.  No 
grain,  except  to  fresh  milch  cows.  For  my  horses  I  have  Kan- 
sas barns,  that  is,  sod  walls  all  around,  covered  on  the  roof  the 
same  as  the  corral. 

% 

HOGS. 

I  have  paid  more  attention  to  hogs  than  tb  cattle,  as  good 
"breeds  could  be  obtained  at  a  less  outlay  for  first  cost,  and  our 
emigrant  pork  market  has  been  excellent,  with  good  prices. 

I  now  raise  as  the  best  suited  and  most  profitable  in  this 
country,  a  cross  of  Berkshire  and  Poland  China,  with  a  slight 
mixture  of  old  native  to  bring  hardiness  and  strength.  I  raise 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  pigs  a  year,  selling  the  larger  half 
to  the  home  market  as  stackers,  and  feeding  the  balance.  I 
get  the  finest  and  best  pigs  from  sows  one  and  one-half  to  three 
years  old,  with  boars  not  over  one  and  one-half  years.  I  have 
pens  built  of  logs,  all  in  a  row,  connecting  with  each  other  by 
trap  doors.  I  find  millet  cut  in  the  seed  to  be  an  excellent  feed 
for  stockers.  Pigs  from  four  months  old  up,  eat  it  with  great 
relish,  and  with  one  feed  of  corn  per  day  I  think  they  do  bet- 
ter and  grow  faster  than  when  fed  on  corn  alone.  For  fatting 
hogs,  I  think  as  we  have  a  mill  handy,  that  wheat,  rye,  barley, 
and  corn,  equal  parts,  ground  coarse  and  fed  dry,  give  the  best 
results  for  the  least  money,  laying  on  flesh  and  lard  very  fast, 


RESULTS.  373 

and  keeping  them  more  healthy  than  when  fed  on  corn  alone.  I 
have  never  had  a  case  of  cholera,  or  lost  a  hog  from  disease,  in 
four  years. 

In  hens  my  wife  has  settled  on  a  cross  of  game  and  native, 
as  the  best  layers  and  raising  the  most  hardy  chickens. 

RESULTS. 

In  conclusion  I  would  say :  As  a  family,  we  have  emerged 
from  our  dug-out,  and  are  living  to-day  in  a  log  house,  thirty- 
four  by  sixteen,  with  frame  ell,  ten- by  fourteen,  divided  into 
three  rooms,  seven  feet  high  ;  shingle  roof  and  pine  floors.  We 
have  good  schools,  and  while  our  boys  are  fitting  in  the  three 
R's  for  life's  duties,  our  girls  have  the  ambition  of  every  Yan- 
kee lass,  to  become  schoolma'ams.  My  farm  will  fetch  in  market 
to-day,  $2,000  cash.  In  what  other  business,  with  no  capital 
(a  family  of  three  children,  the  oldest  but  ten  years  of  age), 
could  we  have  done  as  well  ?  I  have  no  axe  to  grind,  no  land 
to  sell.  But  to  those  who  have  nothing  in  the  East,  as  I  had, 
I  give  my  experience,  which  is  also  the  experience  of  seven  out 
of  ten  around  me,  and  will  close  by  saying,  Come  and  do 
likewise. 


JESSE  L.  SHORE, 

CAMDEN,  MORRIS  COUNTY. 

Location  of  Farm  —  Horse  and  Cattle  Yard —  Wheat  —  How 
much  Seed  to  Sow  —  Cost  of  Raising  it  —  What  Stock 
to  Keep. 

THE  FARM. 

My  farm  lies  twelve  miles  southeast  of  Junction  City,  Kan- 
sas, and  contains  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  of  which 
two  hundred  and  fifty  are  in  cultivation.  Wheat  is  the  prin- 
cipal crop  raised.  Wheat  and  cattle  are  the  paying  industries. 
Two  hundred  acres  are  planted  in  wheat,  and  fifty  acres  in  corn 
and  other  crops.  I  have  on  hand  at  present  seven  head  of 


374  MORRIS  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

horses,  forty  Short-Horns  and  grade  cattle,  besides  hogs  and 
chickens.  I  herd  ray  cattle  on  the  range  in  Summer  and  feed 
on  the  farm  in  Winter.  When  the  farm  lacks  food  to  feed  the 
stock,  I  buy  from  adjoining  farms.  My  place  I  farm  in  wheat. 
I  cut  it  with  the  McCormick  self-binder,  and  shock  it.  When 
dry  I  haul  it  to  the  cattle  lot  and  thresh  out  or  stack,  and 
thresh  at  the  most  convenient  season. 

HORSE  AND   CATTLE   YARDS. 

The  first  yard  is  for  stock  in  stormy  weather.  It  is  sur- 
rounded by  buildings  so  as  to  protect  them  from  the  severe 
storms.  My  horse,  cow  and  pig  stables  are  built  around,  with 
doors  facing  the  inner  lot,  so  that  the  stock  can  run  out  in  the 
daytime  and  be  stabled  at  night ;  or  at  least  a  part  of  them  can 
have  stables.  Here  in  Kansas  most  of  the  dry  cows  and  steers 
are  allowed  to  run  out  all  the  time,  and  will  do  well  if  they 
have  sheds  for  shelter  and  are  protected  with  wind-breaks,  and 
have  plenty  of  corn  fodder  and  hay.  They  will  come  out  in 
the  Spring  in  good  condition.  Through  the  center  are  my 
corn  cribs,  which  answer  for  a  division  of  the  corral,  with  a  gate 
in  the  center  to  pass  through,  or  to  let  stock  run  from  one  side 
to  the  other.  If  it  is  not  desirable  to  have  horses  and  cattle 
together,  the  horses  can  be  let  out  on  one  side  and  the  cattle 
on  the  other.  My  feed  troughs  are  put  alongside  of  the  corn 
crib  to  feed  cattle.  To  the  right  of  my  plan  is  a  lot  fenced 
with  barbed  wire,  where  all  the  small  grain  is  hauled,  to  thresh, 
so  my  cattle  can  have  a  good  run  to  straw  stacks  in  mild 
weather,  and  in  bad  weather  I  house  and  feed  with  hay  and 
corn  fodder,  which  I  haul  direct  from  the  fields  into  the  yards. 
I  also  furnish  water  in  Winter  lot  so  they  can  have  plenty  at 
all  times. 

WHEAT. 

The  best  way  that  I  have  found  to  farm  wheat  in  Kansas, 
is  to  plow  my  ground  five  or  six  inches  deep  in  July  or  August, 
in  July  if  possible,  as  I  am  an  advocate  of  early  plowing.  I 
harrow  three  or  four  times  to  get  the  soil  pulverized  and  packed. 


PLAN  OF  FARM  AND  BUILDINGS. 


375 


.        ^  .  l^ortli 


^     - 

Pasture  &  threshing  ground  &  a  run 
for  cattle  in. mild  winter  weather 


376  MORRIS  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

When  I  roll  the  ground,  I  do  so  before  I  drill  or  seed,  as  other- 
wise the  ground  can  not  be  brought  into  good  condition  for  a 
good  wheat  crop.  When  my  soil  is  in  good  condition,  I  drill  in 
my  wheat  east  and  west,  so  that  the  drill  rows  catch  the  drifting 
snows,  and  thus  protect  the  3*oung  wheat  plants,  a  matter  of 
great  importance  in  hard  freezing  weather. 

WHEN   TO  SOW. 

Wheat  should  be  sown  here  in  Kansas  from  the  twenty- 
fifth  of  August  to  the  twenty-fifth  of  September.  Some  times 
I  get  a  crop  sowed  in  October,  but  as  a  rule  early  sowing  is 
best.  As  to  the  quantity  of  seed  to  be  sown  per  acre  I  have 
not  fully  decided ;  yet  some  claim  that  one  bushel  is  enough, 
while  others  claim  one  and  a  half  bushels  to  the  acre.  My 
experience  is  that  one  and  one-fourth  bushels  is  all  that  any 
ground  requires  of  wheat  seed  if  sown  early.  If  sown  in 
October  or  November  one  and  a  half  bushels  can  be  sown. 
The  best  time  to  harvest  is  when  the  kernel  is  going  out  of  the 
dough  state,  and  is  getting  firm  or  hard.  The  sooner  wheat 
is  cut  after  it  is  out  of  the  dough  state  the  better,  as  wheat 
will  not  have  such  a  rich  color  if  permitted  to  stand  too  long 
after  it  gets  ripe. 

METHOD  OF  HARVESTING,  THRESHING,  AND  COST  OF   CROP. 

Wheat  is  mostly  harvested  in  Kansas  now  with  self-binders 
and  headers,  of  which  I  would  recommend  the  latter  for  cheap- 
ness, and  for  doing  better  work  than  the  binder.  But  care 
should  be  taken  to  stack  the  heads  well,  and  not  to  cut  when 
the  grain  is  wet  or  green.  I  have  had  both  on  my  farm,  and 
can  say  that  the  header  is  much  cheaper.  If  land  is  sown  to 
much  Spring  grain,  and  the  ground  is  inclined  to  weeds,  then 
I  would  recommend  a  self-binder,  as  it  would  not  be  safe  to 
head  wheat  or  oats  that  have  many  weeds  in,  as  it  would  surely 
spoil  all. 

COST    OF    RAISING   WHEAT. 

I  will  give  you  the  cost  of  raising  wheat  in  Kansas  as 
nearly  as  I  can  average  the  cost.  Some  pays  more  and  some 


COST  OF  RAISING  WHEAT.  377 

less.  Our  yield  per  acre  is,  on  high  prairie,  from  ten  to  forty 
bushels,  averaging  from  fifteen  to  twenty.  Price  averages  from 
65  cents  to  $1.20  per  bushel. 

Plowing  per  acre          -  $1  00 

Dragging  three  times  at  20  cents     -  60 

Drilling  per  acre         -  -       30 

Seed,  say  one  and  one-fourth  bu.,    -        -      1  00 
Heading  and  stacking  per  acre  -  -  1  25 

Threshers,  finding  all  at  7  cents  per  bushel, 

about       -        -        -        -        -        -105 


Total  cost  per  acre       -  $ 5  25 

.     Yield  per  acre  average  15  bush,  at  $1.00    $15  00 

Net  profit  -  $  9  75 

The  above  statement  is  only  an  ordinary  yield.  With 
careful  culture  and  a  good  season,  thirty  bushels  can  be  raised 
per  acre  with  about  the  above  cost  and  more  than  double  profit. 

HORSES. 

In  my  experience,  the  best  horse  for  general  farm  use  is  a 
cross  between  the  trotters  and  some  of  our  heavy  draft  horses, 
the  first  giving  style  and  activity,  and  the  latter  giving  size 
and  strength. 

CATTLE. 

For  beef  I  prefer  the  noble  Short-Horns  of  the  Western 
Reserve. 

HOGS. 

These,  according  to  my  way  of  thinking,  are  a  cross  of 
Poland  China  and  Berkshire. 

The  best  way  to  make  money  on  stock  is  to  keep  none  but 
the  best  breeds,  and  feed  liberally  all  the  time.  Early  maturity 
is  the  road  to  success.  Two  pounds  of  flesh  can  be  laid  on  the 
yearling  calf  with  the  same  amount  of  food  that  it  would  take 
to  put  one  pound  on  the  three  year  old. 

BEST   FOOD   FOB   FATTENING. 

I  use  oil  cake  and  Indian  corn,  but  the  best  rough  feed  for 


378  CLOUD  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

cattle  is  early  cut  corn  fodder,  well  cured  ;  the  second  best  is 
early  cut  hay.  Good  breeds,  with  good  feed  and  water,  and 
protection  from  heat,  rain  and  cold,  with  kind  treatment,  will 
pay  a  handsome  profit. 


GEORGE  N.  NICHOLS, 

DELPHOS,    CLOUD    COUNTY. 

Important  Facts  With  Regard  to  the   Opening  and  Location  of 

New  Farms. 

Chief  among  the  multitudes  of  matters  which  challenge 
the  attention  of  a  settler  in  a  new  country,  as  he  enters  upon 
Jand  just  as  it  came  from  nature,  untouched  by  the  hand  of 
man,  is  the  proper  location  of  his  buildings,  yards,  out-houses, 
stables,  etc.,  with  a  view  to  health,  convenience,  and  the 
gratification  of  his  aesthetic  nature.  Health,  of  course,  is  the 
first  consideration. 

BAD   ODORS   OBJECTIONABLE. 

There  is  no  greater  nuisance  about  farm  houses  than  bad 
smells,  emanating  from  the  yards,  corrals,  and  out-houses  ;  and, 
generally  speaking,  nothing  is  more  inexcusable.  The  air  in 
and  around  the  house  should  be  pure  and  sweet  to  insure 
health  and  cheerfulness,  without  which  life  is  a  burden,  and 
no  amount  of  meek  resignation  to  divine  dispensations  will 
thwart  the  inexorable  process  of  law.  The  house  that  is  filled 
with  foul  odors  is  filled  with  fearful  dangers,  likewise,  that  in 
time  will  manifest  themselves  to  the  most  resolute,  and  under- 
mine the  strongest  constitution.  I  am  positive  that  a  very 
large  majority  of  the  cases  of  malarial  fevers  to  which  new 
countries  seem  more  subject  than  older,  arise  from  causes  which 
were  wholly  under  the  control  of  the  sufferers,  and  which 
might  have  been  avoided  by  the  observance  of  certain  facts 
within  the  knowledge  of  all. 

WHERE   TO   BUILD   A   HOUSE. 

Here  is  my  suggestion,  based  upon  an  experience  of  nine 


ARRANGEMENT  OF  FARM.  379 

years  in  this  State.  If  you  can  have  a  choice  as  to  which  way 
you  may  have  your  house  front,  then  I  would  say  the  east ; 
next  the  south ;  then  the  west,  and  lastly,  the  north.  There 
is  little  danger  of  too  much  sunshine  in  the  living  rooms,  even 
in  this  sunny  State.  If  it  is  to  be  located  upon  an  east  and 
west  road,  set  it  far  enough  back  so  that  the  hog  pens,  cattle 
yards,  stables,  etc.,  may  be  due  west  or  east  from  the  house. 
Never  place  them  upon  the  north  or  south,  or  any  of  the  inter- 
mediate points  of  the  compass.  The  west  is  the  best  place,  all 
things  else  being  equal. 

KANSAS  WINDS. 

The  winds  here  very  rarely  indeed  blow  from  that  point. 
Only  one  day  have  they  come  from  the  west  during  the  past 
year  (1879).  They  have  blown  a  little  oftener  from  the  east, 
but  rarely  from  that  quarter.  About  three-fourths  of  the  time 
we  have  had  them  from  the  south  and  the  remainder  from  the 
north,  varying  occasionally  to  the  intermecliate  points. 

HAVE  YARDS  AND  STABLES  DISTANT. 

The  yards  and  stables  should  be  at  least  ten  rods  from 
the  house.  The  outbuildings  should  also  be  due  west  or  east, 
as  the  case  may  be,  from  the  house,  and  never  nearer  than  four 
rods,  while  the  house  well  should  be  as  far  removed  from  it  as 
convenience  will  warrant ;  that  is,  let  the  house  be  about  mid- 
way between  them.  It  is  a  well  established  fact  that  the  im- 
purities contained  in  drinking  water  are  a  prolific  source  of 
fevers,  and  should  be  carefully  guarded  against. 

PLAN  FOR   A  HOUSE. 

My  house  fronts  the  east,  upon  a  north  and  south  road. 
My  yards  are  upon  the  east  side  of  the  road,  about  twelve  rods 
distant  from  the  house.  My  out-house  is  due  west,  four  rods, 
and  the  house  well  northeast.  We  are  very  seldom  troubled 
witli  foul  smells,  and  our  well  water  is  as  pure  as  water  can  be 
without  filtering. 

A  HOMESTEADER. 

I  have  lived  in  this  section  over  nine  years ;  homesteaded 


380  CLOUD  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

my  land.  Every  thing  was  new  at  the  time  of  settlement. 
Since  then  thousands  of  acres  have  been  broken  up  all  around 
me.  As  I  came  from  New  York,  I  had  climatic  changes  to 
undergo,  and  was  subject  to  the  same  general  climatic  influences 
as  others,  with  this  result :  While  a  large  number  of  our  people 
have  been  troubled  with  chills  and  fevers  at  different  times, 
worrying  over  doctors'  bills  and  buying  quack  medicines,  myself 
and  family  have  never  had  any  of  these  ailments,  and  no  doctor 
has  ever  entered  our  house,  professionally,  since  our  residence 
here,  though  my  wife  at  the  same  time  was  never  robust. 
I  do  not  consider  our  immunity  from  disease  as  a  special 
interposition  in  our  behalf,  but  rather  the  observance  of  a 
few  common  sense  ideas. 

CONVENIENCE  AND  TASTE  REGARDED. 

While  looking  after  the  sanitary  arrangements,  we  should 
also  keep  in  full  view  convenience  and  taste.  To  the  north  of 
my  house,  acting  as  a  wind-break,  are  the  orchards  of  peach 
and  apple.  I  would  always  place  them  there  if  possible.  To 
the  west  is  an  artificial  grove.  Thus  we  are  protected  from  the 
severe,  piercing  winds  of  Winter. 

The  lawn  surrounding  the  house  is  set  with  shade  trees, 
which  serve  the  double  purpose  of  ornament  and  partial  shade, 
obscuring  the  rough  appearance  inseparable  from  farm  yards, 
such  as  stacks,  cribs,  pens,  stables,  etc.,  which  are  across  the 
road. 

We  can  not  be  too  careful  in  guarding  our  homes  from 
noxious  smells  and  vapors.  And  a  little  regard  for  the  laws  of 
health  in  planning  and  building,  will  as  surely  save  us  from 
many  unnecessary  doctors'  bills,  as  a  total  neglect  of  them  will 
sap  the  strongest  constitution  and  banish  contentment  and 
happiness  from  the  family  circle. 


A  CATTLE  RANCH.  381 

WILLIAM    LOCKARD, 

LODI,  BARBOUR  COUNTY. 

A  Cattle  Ranch  —  Branding  —  Round-  Ups  —  Income  —  Amuse- 
ments —  Hospitality. 

On  the  first  day  of  September,  1877,  I  began  moving  my 
traps  to  this  place,  then  wild  and  unsettled,  my  nearest  neigh- 
bor being  four  miles  away.  I  selected  the  land  for  its  good 
water,  range  and  timber,  and  have  made  it  a  stock  ranch. 

Plan  No.  1  represents  the  form  of  the  land  as  entered, 
showing  the  streams  of  water,  which  rise  in  springs  a  short 
distance  below  the  north  line  of  the  ranch,  and. sink  in  the 
sand  near  the  south  line,  when  the  weather  is  dry.  There  are 
about  sixty  acres  of  timber,  all  bottom  land,  leaving  one  hun- 
dred acres  in  grass.  The  timber  consists  of  black  walnut, 
cottonwood,  white  elm,  hackberry,  mulberry,  gray  ash,  and  a 
few  small  cedars ;  the  brush  is  arrow-wood. 

The  dots  mark  the  location  of  the  buildings,  the  square 
representing  the  corrals. 

CORRALS. 

Plan  No.  2  shows  the  form  of  the  corrals,  three  marks 
representing  the  double  gate,  two  the  single  gates.  The  pen 
in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  large  corral,  with  a  gate  at 
both  ends,  is  the  branding  pen.  The  buildings,  yard  and  cor- 
rals are  well  shaded  in  Summer  with  timber,  and  protected  by 
the  same  from  the  cold  winds  of  Winter.  In  the  large  corral 
are  salt  troughs,  where  salt  is  always  kept.  The  gates  are 
always  open,  excepting  when  in  use.  From  the  southeast 
corner  runs  out  a  wing  or  fence  to  keep  the  cattle  from  running 
around  the  pen  when  being  driven  in.  On  this  ranch  and  the 
surrounding  range,  in  1879,  were  three  hundred  and  eighty- 
four  head  of  cattle  and  twenty  ponies.  One  young  man  takes 
care  of  all,  excepting  when  it  is  necessary  to  "  round  up,"  when 


382 


BAKBOUR  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 


'he  has  two  hands  to  assist.  This  young  man  is  constantly  in 
the  saddle ;  he  rises  at  peep  of  day,  feeds  his  ponies,  eats  his 
breakfast,  and  is  gone.  He  rides  among  the  stock,  sees 
where  they  are  and  what  they  are  doing,  and  renders  such 
care  as  may  be  required.  He  generally  returns  at  two 
o'clock  P.M.,  and  has  the  remainder  of  the  afternoon  for  rest 
and  recreation. 


PLAN  OF  FARM  AND  CORRALS. 


BRANDING. 

On  small  ranches,  like  this,  there  are  generally  two  or 
three  "round-ups,"  during  the  Summer  or  early  Fall,  to  mark 
and  brand  the  calves.  The  cows  and  calves  are  driven  into 
the  large  corral,  then  as  many  into  one  of  the  small  corrals  as 
it  will  hold.  The  cows  and  calves  are  now  separated  by  driv- 
ing the  cows  back  through  the  gate  and  keeping  the  calves  in  ; 
the  calves  are  then  turned  into  the  third  corral.  The  process 
is  repeated  until  all  the  calves  are  penned  by  themselves.  A 
fire  is  kindled,  the  branding  irons  are  heated,  all  is  ready. 
The  gate  into  the  branding  shute  is  then  opened  and  the 


ROUND-UPS.  383 

calves,  trying  to  get  to  their  mothers,  fill  it  completely,  when 
the  gate  is  closed.  Next,  the  boys  put  a  rope  around  a  calf's 
neck,  he  is  taken  back  into  the  corral  and  tied  to  a  tree,  another 
rope,  with  a  slip  noose,  being  placed  about  his  hind  legs.  A  man 
on  a  pony  takes  the  rope,  gives  it  a  turn  or  two  around  the  horn 
of  the  saddle,  the  pony  pulls  and  brings  the  calf  down  on  its 
side,  holding  it  there  until  the  brand  is  made  and  the  knife 
applied,  when  the  rope  is  taken  off  its  neck,  the  other  rope  is 
dropped  and  falls  off.  In  this  way,  when  necessary,  the  large 
as  well  as  small  animals  are  branded.  This  is  better  than 
branding  in  a  shute,  for  one  can  be  sure  that  the  brand  is  good. 

ROUND-UPS. 

The  largest  and  most  important  round-ups  are  in  the  Spring, 
after  the  long  hair  of  Winter  is  shed,  generally  beginning  in  the 
latter  part  of  April,  and  sometimes  extending  into  June.  Word 
is  passed  around  that  a  round-up  will  be  at  Mr.  A's  ranch  on 
a  certain  day.  All  the  cattle  on  that  range  are  gathered  on  as 
smooth  a  piece  of  ground  as  may  be  found  near  the  ranch. 
They  are  kept  together,  a  few  men  surrounding  them ;  then 
those  who  have  cattle  ride  slowly  and  gently  among  them,  and 
as  each  man  finds  one  of  his  own  animals  he  drives  it  gently  to 
the  edge  of  the  herd.  The  horseman  slaps  his  quirt  against 
his  leather  overalls;  the  animal,  before  aware  of  what  is  up,  is 
scared  out  of  the  herd.  Thus  a  dozen  or  twenty  are  cutting  out 
of  the  same  herd  at  the  same  time.  After  all  are  satisfied,  each 
bunch  is  inspected  to  see  that  all  is  right.  If  any  dispute  arises 
as  to  the  ownership  of  an  animal,  that  the  brand  is  not  plain, 
the  animal  is  lassoed,  thrown  down  and  the  hair  shaved  off.  The 
true  brand  is  then  apparent,  so  that  all  are  satisfied.  In  these 
round-ups  there  are  always  hundreds,  and  often  a  few  thou- 
sands, in  one  bunch.  Those  that  attend  these  round-ups,  if 
they  have  many  cattle  together,  take  with  them  two  ponies 
each,  blankets  for  sleeping,  and  horsefeed.  They  expect  to 
live  in  the  open  air,  without  shelter,  for  six  weeks. 

On  this  ranch,  if  the  cattle  become  thin,  they  are  brought 
in  and  fed  hay  and  corn  if  necessary.  The  losses  of  a  Winter 


384  BARBOUK  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

range  from  one  to  three  per  cent.  One  source  of  loss  is  the  black- 
leg, the  only  disease  causing  very  serious  results.  The  cause 
of  this  disease  is  said  to  be  too  much  nutriment.  In  skinning 
the  dead  animals  we  find  patches  resembling  bruises,  or  appear- 
ing, as  we  frontiermen  say,  blood-shot.  A  preventive  for  this 
is  to  pen  early  and  turn  out  late,  twice  a  week. 

INCOME. 

Not  having  managed  this  ranch  for  a  very  long  time,  I  am 
hardly  prepared  to  state  the  yearly  income.  Thus  far  the  steers 
which  have  been  sold  the  Summer  or  Fall  after  they  were  two 
years  old,  have  paid  all  expenses  and  made  the  improvements 
on  the  ranch,  leaving  all  the  heifers  for  clear  profit.  Others, 
who  have  been  longer  in  the  business,  have  done  better  than 
this,  putting  back  some  of  the  money  into  more  young  stock. 

We  raise  no  grain ;  hay  is  our  only  crop,  corn  never  having 
been  a  success  in  this  county.  Corn  is  hauled  in  wagons  from 
the  bottom  lands  of  the  Arkansas  river,  one  hundred  miles 
away,  and  is  worth  here  fifty  cents  per  bushel. 

AMUSEMENTS. 

Reading  is  the  favorite  pastime ;  we  keep  well  supplied 
with  papers  and  market  reports,  so  that  we  know  what  is  going 
on  in  the  world  of  business  and  politics.  Books  appear  as  public 
property — passing  from  ranch  to  ranch — and  are  read  by  all. 
History  is  a  favorite  subject,  though  travels  and  novels  are  not 
neglected. 

Croquet  is  the  game  best  liked ;  men  and  women,  old  and 
young,  join  in  the  sport  with  a  relish.  Our  grounds  are  thickly 
shaded,  so  that  it  is  pleasant  out  of  doors,  in  the  warmest  days. 

The  house  games  are  dominoes,  checkers,  author-cards  and 
cards. 

The  ladies  enjoy  horseback  riding ;  they  always  have  their 
ponies,  and  often  gallop  off  in  the  morning  five  or  ten  miles  to 
see  friends,  returning  at  night. 

The  evening,  if  we  have  no  company,  is  passed,  after  the 
lamp  is  lit,  one  hour  in  reading,  one  hour  in  games,  half  an 
hour  in  conversation,  then  to  bed.  If  we  have  company,  and 


HOSPITALITY  AND  INDIANS.  385 

the  evening  is  fine,  which  is  the   case  generally,  croquet  is 
played  by  lantern  light. 

HOSPITALITY  AND  INDIANS. 

Ranchmen  are  generous  almost  to  a  fault.  They  feed  and 
lodge,  without  charge,  every  person  who  comes  to  the  ranch  ; 
high  or  low,  rich  or  poor,  black,  white  or  copper-colored,  all 
are  provided  for  alike.  By  this  kindness  the  copper-colored 
murderers  got  the  advantage  in  the  Fall  of  1878.  They  had 
been  in  the  habit  of  coming  to  the  cattle  camps  or  ranches  to 
get  food,  and  the  generous  ranchmen,  not  only  gave  them  plenty 
to  eat  while  they  were  there,  but  also  provisions  to  carry  away 
with  them.  The  few  white  persons  who  escaped  assassination, 
bear  witness  that  the  Indians  came,  apparently  as  friendly  as 
they  ever  were,  asked  for  something  to  eat,  as  usual,  and  when 
the  whites  were  off  their  guard  drew  their  revolvers  from 
under  their  blankets  and  began  firing.  Some  of  our  best  men 
were  thus  murdered  in  cold  blood.  Murry,  a  young  man,  be- 
loved by  all  who  knew  him,  for  his  steady  habits,  his  attention 
to  business,  and  his  gentlemanly  deportment,  was  murdered  by 
those  whom  he  had  fed  when  hungry  and  had  given  shelter 
from  cold  and  storm.  If  these  had  been  white  men,  they  would 
every  one  of  them  have  been  hung,  as  they  deserved  to  be. 

Ranchmen  are  true  friends ;  there  are  few  hardships  they 
will  not  endure  for  a  friend,  and  their  assistance  can  be  relied 
on  in  time  of  sickness  or  trouble.  They  assist  each  other  in 
putting  out  fires,  gathering  their  cattle,  branding  and  blabing, 
and  never  think  of  making  a  charge. 

They  dress  in  common  business  clothes,  under  leather  over- 
alls that  are  well  greased,  carry  with  them  an  overcoat  and  oil 
coat,  wear  the  indispensable  broad-brimmed  hat,  and  have  a 
six-shooter  strapped  around  the  waist. 

STOCK  ON  THE  KANGE. 

The  stock  interest  is  so  large  in  this  hilly  portion  of 
Kansas,  that  a  short  account  of  it  will,  I  think,  prove  interest- 
ing to  say  the  least.  Some  stockmen  have  cattle  here  on  the 


386  JBARBOUR  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

range,  and  live  with  their  families,  in  the  railroad  towns.  This 
stock  is  usually  in  the  care  of  persons  who  have  a  share  in  it. 

A  DUG  OUT. 

These  men  live  in  what  are  called  dug  outs.  That  is,  a 
hole  dug  in  the  hillside,  with  poles  and  brush  over  the  top,  on 
which  is  piled  dirt  in  the  place  of  shingles.  A  door  on  the 
lower  side  of  the  hill  is  used  for  the  double  purpose  of  entrance 
and  a  window.  A  fireplace  is  dug  in  the  earth  wall  and  a  few 
sods  placed  around  the  top,  on  the  outside,  finishes  the  chimney. 

FURNITURE. 

The  furniture  is  of  the  simplest  order,  and  consists  of  one 
or  two  nail  kegs  and  a  cracker  box.  A  few  of  the  ranchmen 
make  a  bedstead  of  poles,  but  generally  a  few  blankets  piled 
in  one-  corner  is  the  only  place  of  rest. 

THE  COOKING 

is  also  done  in  a  very  primitive  wa}T,  and  the  utensils  consist 
of  an  iron  pot,  in  which  meat  and  vegetables  are  boiled ;  a 
skillet  and  lid  for  baking,  a  frying  pan  and  a  coffee  pot,  com- 
prise the  outfit.  The  table  is  furnished  (only  the  table  has  not 
come  home  yet)  with  a  tin  plate  and  cup  and  a  spoon  to  each 
person. 

The  saddle  and  bridle  are  lying  where  the  pony  is  stripped, 
and  the  horses  are  leisurely  feeding  on  the  wild  grass,  not  far 
from  the  dug  out.  These  men  have  no  corrals  or  pens  of  any 
kind,  but  when  they  wish  to  brand  or  blab,  they  drive  their 
stock  to  the  pens  of  some  permanent  ranchman,  and  use  his 
shutes  and  corrals.  All  hands  eat  with  the  owner.  When  the 
work  is  done  and  the  stock  started  for  home,  the  "boss  herder  " 
rides  around  and  says,  "if  you  pass  our  way,  call.  Good  day." 

THE    GENEROSITY 

of  stock  men  is  so  universally  known  that  they  often  feed  entire 
strangers.  In  the  counties  on  the  north  and  east,  known  as 
herd  law  counties,  there  are  numbers  of  farmers  who  are  poor. 
During  the  season  they  can  not  work  on  their  farms  they  go 
into  the  Indian  Territory  to  cut  and  haul  cedar  posts  to  the  rail- 


HOMES  AND  HABITS  OF  STOCKMEN.  387 

road  towns.  At  best,  this  is  a  slow  and  hard  way  of  earning  a 
living.  Often  as  many  as  six  teams  and  as  many  men,  will 
drive  up  to  the  ranch  and  ask  for  food  and  shelter  for  the  night. 
We  always  give  them  their  supper  and  breakfast,  and  when 
they  leave  in  the  morning,  one  of  the  men  will  say,  "  Well* 
boss,  we  will  make  this  all  right  at  the  round-up." 

HOMES. 

Some  of  our  stockmen  have  neat  residences  in  Medicine 
Lodge,  where  they  live  with  their  families,  and  have  permanent 
ranches  in  other  portions  of  the  county.  These  ranches  are  fitted 
up  with  conveniences  for  handling  stock  and  are  also  compara- 
tively comfortable  for  their  men.  The  owners  of  these  ranches 
ride  out  two  or  three  times  a  week  to  the  range  and  superintend 
their  ranch  in  person. 

BACHELORS. 

We  have  also  quite  a  number  of  single  men  engaged  in 
stock  raising.  They  live  in  a  hewed  log  cabin,  with  roof  covered 
with  gypsum ;  a  shutter  to  the  door,  and  a  glass  in  the  win- 
dow. A  home-made  bedstead,  a  table,  a  cook  stove,  a  shelf 
against  the  wall  for  books  and  newspapers,  and  some  have  even 
the  luxury  of  a  chair,  and  a  looking-glass,  as  large  as  your  two 
hands. 

The  largest  number  of  our  ranchmen  are  living  with  their 
families  on  permanent  ranches.  Many  of  these  ranchmen 
have  a  young  man  living  with  them  who  own  stock  themselves. 
These  men  take  care  of  all  the  stock  on  the  ranch.  Such  an 
arrangement  is  mutually  profitable. 

PROFITS. 

Ranching  is  profitable  even  where  you  are  only  able  to 
keep  all  the  heifers.  In  this  way  you  save  one-half  the  annual 
income.  But  the  majority  are  doing  better  than  that.  Ranch- 
ing is  a  pleasant,  free  and  easy  life,  and  the  saying  of  the  cow- 
boy is,  "  I  will  not  do  any  thing  I  can  not  do  on  horseback." 

WANDERERS. 

There  is  still  another  class  of  stock-raisers.     They  have  no 


388  WASHINGTON  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

settled  place  of  feeding  their  stock.  In  the  Winter  they  go 
into  some  deserted  dug-out,  and  during  the  Summer  live  out  of 
doors,  or,  at  best,  with  only  a  wagon  cover  over  them.  In 
this  way  they  wander  wherever  interest  or  inclination  leads, 
carrying  with  them  as  little  as  possible  to  camp  with. 

MORALS. 

The  morals  of  the  ranchmen  are  very  much  underrated. 
They  will  compare  favorably  with  the  same  number  of  people 
in  any  other  calling.  Intellectually  they  are  above  the  aver- 
age. There  are  men  here  from  every  State  in  the  Union.  Men 
who  have  come  direct  from  the  common  school,  and  graduates 
from  our  best  Eastern  colleges.  Some  young  men  from  the 
East,  who  came  here  to  go  into  the  cattle  trade,  remarked  in 
th'e  presence  of  an  old  ranchman  "  that  they  were  all  college 
graduates."  The  ranchman  replied,  "  Oh,  never  mind  that, 
boys,  if  you  behave  yourselves  well  we  will  receive  you  into 
.society  all  the  same  !" 


CHARLES  WILLIAMSON, 

WASHINGTON,  WASHINGTON  COUNTY. 

Mixed  Husbandry  the  Most  Profitable —  When  and  How  to  Sow 
Winter  Wheat,  Oats  and  German  Millet  —  Sees,  Keep 
them  Well  Filled  with  Winter  Stores  —  The  Garden  —  Fruit 
—  Sheep  and  Hogs. 

After  twenty-five  years  of  tilling  the  virgin  soil  of  Kansas, 
subduing  the  wild  grapes  and  prairie  sod,  and  cultivating  all 
kinds  of  cereals,  handling  at  the  same  time  all  kinds  of  stock, 
raising  all  kinds  of  fruit,  and  not  neglecting  even  the  apiary, 
I  propose  to  give  the  various  modes  of  cultivating  crops  which 
are  to-day  the  basis  of  successful  farming  in  northwestern 
Kansas. 

My  farm  consists  of  part  upland  prairie  and  part  bottom 
land,  on  Mill  creek,  on  the  Central  branch  of  the  Union  Pacific 
railroad. 


WHEAT  — CORN.  389 

I  find  mixed  crops  the  most  profitable  for,  if  I  fail  with 
one,  I  gain  with  another,  and  the  same  is  true  with  the  market 

value. 

WHEAT. 

Spring  wheat  is  very  rarely  profitable  or  a  good  crop,  as  it 
affords  a  harbor  and  hatching  place  for  the  chintz  bug.  Fall 
wheat  is  a  success  under  certain  conditions.  In  July,  as  soon 
as  the  growing  crop  is  cut,  be  it  oats  or  wheat,  the  plow  must 
follow  the  reaper  immediately.  The  land  should  then  rest 
until  the  first  to  the  tenth  of  September,  and  then  be  sown 
with  drill.  The  seed  must  be  clean  and  free  from  weed  seeds. 
The  varieties  sown  are  Fultz,  Red  May,  White  Winter  or  Rocky 
Mountain.  If  the  weather  in  March  be  dry,  the  ground  should 
be  rolled.  The  yield,  when  sown  as  above  described,  is  thirty 
to  thirty-five  bushels  to  the  acre  on  an  average ;  while  late 
plowing,  late  sowing,  and  foul  seed,  yield  from  one  and  one- 
half  to  three  bushels  to  the  acre. 

My  oats  are  put  in  early  on  ground  plowed  in  the  Spring. 
I  sow  two  bushels  to  the  acre,  and  harrow.  The  ground  will 
average  from  sixty  to  one  hundred  bushels  to  the  acre. 

CORN. 

The  land  is  plowed  in  the  Fall  and  planted  the  middle  of 
April,  following  with  harrow  cultivation,  commencing  before  it 
is  up.  That  plowed  in  Spring  is  planted  at  once  after  plowing, 
and  planted  from  the  first  to  the  tenth  of  May.  The  yield  is 
from  sixty  to  one  hundred  bushels  to  the  acre.  The  largest 
yield  of  corn  is  on  the  bottom,  and  of  wheat,  oats  and  barley 
on  the  prairie. 

MILLET. 

German  millet  should  be  sown  at  the  same  time  as  Spring 
plowed  land  for  corn.  It  yields  three  to  four  tons  to  the  acre, 
and  forty  to  fifty  bushels  of  seed,  and  makes  excellent  feed  for 
stock,  fed  with  prairie  hay.  Thus  I  save  my  corn  for  my  hogs. 

STOCK. 

I  sow  barley  and  plant  artichokes  as  Summer  feed  for 
hogs  in  the  pasture,  giving  them  access  to  running  water. 


.390  WASHINGTON  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

As  the  result,  my  hogs  are  free  from  disease.  I  salt  my  hogs 
the  same  as  my  cattle,  adding  sulphur  occasionally,  to  keep  off 
hog  cholera  and  murrain.  My  prairie  hay  is  cut,  and  cured 
two  weeks  earlier  than  my  neighbors.  I  consider  it  more 
nutritious  than  late  or  frosted  hay.  My  cows  are  kept  at 
home,  in  a  small  herd  or  pasture,  for  home  use.  My  young 
cattle  are  sent  to  the  herd,  some  ten  miles  away.  I  pay  one 
dollar  per  head  for  herding  and  salting,  from  the  first  of  April 
to  the  first  of  October.  I  then  take  them  home  and  feed  and 
superintend  their  wintering.  I  separate,  in  feeding,  my  young 
heifers  from  my  steers,  and  feed  the  calves  by  themselves.  I 
do  not  allow  cattle  and  sheep  to  be  herded  together,  for  the 
reason  that  land  that  has  been  grazed  by  sheep,  if  fed  on  by 
cattle  will  produce  catarrh al  diseases,  and  check  their  growth. 
I  also  insist  that  my  cattle  have  pure  water  and  plenty  of  it, 
for  it  is  as  much  a  desideratum  as  feed.  My  prairie  hay  costs 
me  one  dollar  per  ton  in  the  rick,  put  up  on  the  ground. 

HOGS. 

My  experience  in  growing  hogs  is  that  the  best  are  the 
Poland  China,  and  large-boned  Berkshires.  I  manage  to  keep 
a  hog  that  can  be  fattened  at  any  age,  and  will  weigh  two 
hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred  pounds  when  a  year  old. 
Our  hogs  follow  the  cattle,  and  by  so  doing  save  one-quarter 
of  the  corn  fed. 

BEES. 

I  plant  buckwheat  in  my  orchard  at  the  second  plowing 
and  try  to  have  blossoms  for  my  bees  from  Spring  to  Fall. 
Thus,  with  the  wild  flowers  and  timber  added,  I  have  an  abund- 
ance of  feed.  Honey  taken  from  the  hives  in  the  month  of 
July  last,  averaged  fifty  pounds  each,  and  my  profits  from  ten 
stands  this  Summer  were  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  and  the 
increase  on  new  swarms  added  fifty  dollars  more  to  that  sum. 
I  have  neither  disease  nor  moth  among  my  bees.  I  Winter  them 
out  of  doors  under  a  shed  facing  the  north,  and  which  is  pro- 
tected by  my  house.  It  is  open  on  the  north  and  ea:-3t,  and 
closed  to  the  south,  for  there  is  nothing  colder  or  more  chilly 


THE  GARDEN  — FRUIT.  391 

than  the  north  end  of  a  south  wind  in  Kansas.  The  secret  of 
my  success  with  bees  is  keeping  them  well  filled  with  Winter 
stores. 

Our  bees  are  wintered  on  stands  placed  under  a  shed  ten 
feet  by  fifteen  or  thirty,  facing  the  east.  It  protects  them  from 
the  hot  sun  in  Summer,  and  the  cold  in  Winter. 

THE  GARDEN. 

I  have  a  very  fine  garden  in  the  bottom  land, which  is  highly 
manured  in  the  Fall  and  Spring.  I  buy  the  most  reliable 
seeds  in  the  market  when  I  can  not  raise  them  myself.  I  have 
to  thank  the  Agricultural  Department  at  Washington  for  some 
of  my  best.  I  plant  early,  often  in  the  Fall,  and  my  vegeta- 
bles are  ready  for  the  early  market,  and  I  am  neither  too  proud 
nor  ashamed  to  peddle  my  own  products  in  my  buggy  in  the 
village.  There  is  a  false  pride  that  keeps  many  poor,  and 
deprives  home  of  its  comforts.  The  early  rhubarb  is  often  my 
best  crop ;  next  potatoes.  The  Beauty  of  Hebron  and  Early 
Rose  succeed  best  here,  when  planted  early. 

FRUIT. 

I  have  raspberries,  blackberries,  and  peaches,  and  in  a  short 
time  will  have  plenty  of  apples.  Peaches  bear  from  the  seed 
in  three  years ;  apples  in  five  years.  The  Mammoth  Cluster 
and  Doolittle  raspberries  are  best.  For  blackberries  we  have  Kit- 
tatiny  and  Snyder,  and  the  natural  blackberry  and  raspberry. 

Within  my  range  of  vision  I  see  farms  upon  which  one 
hundred  varieties  of  fruit  have  been  planted  at  a  large  expense, 
when  experience  tells  me  that  ten  varieties  of  apples  that  have 
been  tried,  are  worth  them  all. 

HOME. 

If  my  home  does  not  please  the  eyes  of  others,  it  affords 
me  pleasure,  and  meets  the  wants  and  preserves  the  health 
of  my  family.  I  have  two  essentials,  good  ventilation  and 
plenty  of  sunlight.  Where  the  latter  does  not  enter  the 
physician  does.  My  kitchen  is  built  to  save  steps,  and  econo- 


392  WASHINGTON  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

mize  time,  as  from  it  my  bees  are  always  to  be  seen.  My  bed- 
rooms have  sunlight  and  pure  air. 

We  use  no  tobacco  or  alcoholic  drinks -at  our  home,  but 
after  the  day's  work  is  done,  my  boys  and  girls  gather  around 
the  table  to  read  the  monthly  magazines  and  other  journals. 

God  made  the  country,  and  in  its  well-ordered  farm  homes 
will  be  raised  the  children  who  are  our  present  hope  and 
future  rulers  —  our  nation's  safeguard. 

FEEDING  AND  WATERING  STOCK. 

Here  in  the  West  we  utilize  our  streams  and  springs  for 
watering  our  stock,  for  plenty  of  good  water  is  as  much  a 
necessity  as  food.  On  the  prairie  we  use  windmills.  For 
feeding  stock  and  cattle  we  use  a  square  pen,  the  posts  set  in 
the  ground,  and  poles  or  plank  nailed  on,  made  tight  below, 
so  that  the  hogs  can  not  break  in.  We  feed  corn  in  long 
wooden  troughs  or  boxes  two  feet  wide,  ten  inches  high,  and 
sixteen  feet  long.  The  posts  are  set  in  the  ground,  with  cross, 
pieces  to  hold  up  the  same. 

For  sheep  all  we  need  is  a  dry,  open  shed,  facing  the  south 
on  rolling  ground,  so  that  the  manure  and  water  will  not  settle 
there. 

The  fountains  of  our  springs  are  so  high  that  we  conduct 
water  into  the  house,  barn,  sheds,  and  yards,  the  whole  year 
round.  On  one  of  my  farms  at  Palmer,  on  ,  the  Pacific 
railroad,  the  tank  at  the  depot  is  supplied  from  a  spring  one 
hundred  yards  from  it,  and  conducted  under  ground.  It  then 
rises  twenty-five  feet,  keeping  a  large  tank  full.  On  the 
same  farm,  and  sometimes  not  over  twenty-five  feet  distant 
from  each  other,  will  be  found  soft,  hard,  and  medicinal  springs. 
My  hogs  are  supplied  with  a  pump  alongside  of  the  pig  pen. 
The  hogs  left  out  run  to  the  creek. 

AMBER  CANE. 

I  consider  this  a  promising  industry.  I  raised  sixteen  acres 
of  cane  this  year,  and  found  a  ready  market  at  fifty 
cents  a  gallon.  Next  year  I  expect  to  make  sugar.  I  always 
place  my  mill  higher  than  my  boiler.  The  sirup  made  from 


AMBER  CANE  —  DIVISION  OP  FARM.  398 

Amber  cane  beats  any  other  kind  now  in  the  market,  and  I 
will  say  here,  if  you  have  any  sheep,  burn  up  the  refuse  seed 
and  stalks  of  any  cane,  or  it  will  kill  the  sheep  who  eat  it.  It 
also  produces  abortion  and  loss  of  lambs.  I  lost  forty  head  a 
year  ago,  and  paid  dearly  for  my  knowledge  on  this  point. 


B.  D.  WILLIAMS, 

HIGHLAND,   DONIPHAN   COUNTY. 

Cattle  Raising  —  Farm  Well  Timbered  and  Watered  —  Cattle 
and  Mules  —  Cost  of  Stock  per  Head  —  Hogs  Profitable  —  A 
Grazing  Pasture  of  One  Thousand  Acres  —  Fall  Wheat  Most 
Remunerative  —  Believes  in  Plenty  of  Stock  —  A  Peach 
Orchard. 

I  have  handled  cattle  for  nine  years,  and  for  the  past  four 
years  have  managed  a  farm  of  seven  hundred  and  forty  acres, 
in  Doniphan  county,  Kan.  I  shall  not  assert  that  we  carry  it 
on  in  a  model  way,  for  Kansas  is  as  yet  new,  and  has  by  no 
means  reached  a  model  system  of  cultivation  ;  but  I  think  I 
shall  be  safe  in  saying  that  no  other  country  can  show  as  valua- 
ble results,  as  Kansas  can,  for  the  money  and  labor  expended. 
We  are  two  and  one-half  miles  from  Highland,  Doniphan 
county,  and  seven  miles  from  the  Atchison  &  Nebraska  rail- 
road. 

HOW   MY   FARM   IS  DIVIDED. 

This  farm  is  divided  into  eight  different  lots.  One  lot, 
composed  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  and  which  has  no 
living  water  on  it,  is  used  for  farming  land  ;  another  lot,  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty  acres,  which  also  has  no  living  water  on  it, 
is  in  timothy  and  clover  for  meadow.  The  remaining  thirty 
acres  of  this  quarter  section  are  divided  as  follows :  Eighteen 
acres  of  it  are  in  timothy  and  clover  pasture  ;  five  acres  are  set  out 
in  an  orchard,  and  seven  acres  are  planted  with  a  nice  hickory 
and  walnut  grove,  in  which  are  located  the  house,  barn,  sheds, 
cattle  lots,  etc.,  with  a  splendid  stock  well,  only  eighteen  feet 


394  DONIPHAN  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

deep.  Next  adjoining  this  on  the  west,  are  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres,  which  are  portioned  off  into  fields  as  follows:  One 
fifty  acre  field  is  seeded  to  timothy,  and  one  thirty-five  acre 
field  is  seeded  to  timothy. 

These  two  lots  join  seventy-five  acres  of  timber  and  other 
pasture.  This  pasture  has  a  strong  spring  on  it,  the  head  of 
which  is  in  the  grove,  and  which  makes  a  good  running  branch 
for  about  sixty  rods  through  the  grove,  supplying  plenty  of 
water  for  almost  any  number  of  stock.  Stock  of  any  kind  can 
step  into  the  stream,  at.  any  point,  and  find  abundant  water. 
South  of  this  lot  are  eighty  acres  of  farming  land,  which  is 
enclosed  by  itself.  The  five  hundred  and  sixty  acres  I  have 
thus  described,  are  in  one  body.  One  mile  from  this  are  one 
hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  prairie  pasture,  fenced  with  posts 
and  five  boards,  so  as  to  hold  cattle  and  hogs.  This  was  used 
for  feeding  corn  to  cattle  and  hogs  on  grass,  before  we  got  our 
timothy  and  clover  pasture,  but  is  now  employed  for  pasturing 
breeding  stock.  It  is  watered  well  with  springs,  which  have 
never  been  known  to  fail.  It  has  a  grove  of  about  five  acres, 
which  is  of  great  value  to  stock,  affording  protection  from  heat 
in  Summer,  as  well  as  cold  and  winds  in  Winter. 

CATTLE. 

• 

In  connection  with  this  farm  I  carry  from  three  to  four 
hundred  head  of  cattle,  mules,  and  horses,  averaging  about  three 
hundred  head  of  cattle,  fifteen  mules,  ten  horses ;  also  from 
one  hundred  and  fifty  to  four  hundred  head  of  hogs.  I  am 
turning  my  attention  more  to  raising  and  grazing  stock  than  to 
raising  corn,  buying  big  steers  and  feeding.  It  has  been  largely 
done  in  this  State,  though  the  method  of  farming  and  stock  feed- 

o  o 

ing  has  not  shown  any  very  good  average  results,  since  I  have 
been  acquainted  with  the  business.  We  think  it  necessary 
to  successful  farming,  to  carry  all  kinds  of  stock  with  the 
farm  that  does  not  interfere  one  with  the  other,  or  that  the 
situation  or  condition  of  the  farm  makes  it  convenient  to  have. 

NO   FENCING   FOR    SHEEP. 

One  kind  of  stock  that  we  do  not  try  to  handle  in  this 


PROFIT  OF  CATTLE.  395 

part  of  Kansas,  is  sheep.  The  farms  are  not  commonly  fenced 
for  sheep,  and  cattle  do  not  like  to  graze  where  sheep  graze 
and  bed.  In  the  Fall  of  1878,  we  bought  one  hundred  and 
sixty-five  two-year  old  steers,  at  an  average  cost  of  twenty- 
seven  dollars  and  thirty  cents  per  head.  With  this  string  of 
cattle  we  put  twenty-three  head  of  our  own  raising.  They 
were  the  same  age,  and  we  think  they  cost  us  much  less  per 
head,  and  were  better  cattle. 

PROFIT  OF  CATTLE. 

I  ran  these  one  hundred  and  eighty-eight  cattle  together 
in  stalk  fields,  bought  at  twenty-five  to  thirty  cents  per  acre, 
until  March  10th,  1879,  at  about  the  cost  of  five  dollars  per 
head,  thus  making  the  stock  cost  thirty-two  dollars  and  thirty 
cents  per  head  March  10th,  and  they  were  in  fine  condition.  I 
then  selected  out  sixty-eight  of  the  best,  put  them  on  full  feed 
in  a  good  timber  lot,  without  any  grass,  and  they  stayed  here 
until  June  22d.  They  each  consumed  about  forty-five  bushels 
of  corn,  which  was  worth  eighteen  cents  per  bushel,  or  eight 
dollars  and  ten  cents.  The  cost  of  a  man  to  feed  them  did  not 
exceed  fifty  cents  per  head,  as  he  had  about  two  hundred  other 
cattle  to  feed,  increasing  the  cost  to  eight  dollars  and  sixty 
cents  per  head.  This  made  these  cattle  cost  forty  dollars  and 
seventy  cents  per  head  at  time  of  sale.  I  sold  them,  and  they 
weighed  over  fourteen  hundred  pounds  on  the  average, 
bringing  the  average  price  of  sixty  dollars  per  head.  This 
left  nineteen  dollars  and  ten  cents  profit  per  head.  The 
remaining  one  hundred  and  twenty  head  were  roughed  until 
April  10th,  then  put  on  full  feed  on  grass  and  corn,  where  the 
pasture,  feed  lot  and  all  accommodations  were  furnished,  with 
the  corn,  by  paying  twenty  cents  per  bushel  for  the  corn.  They 
were  fed  about  four  months,  and  cost  ten  dollars  per  head  for  corn 
and  feeding,  and  six  dollars  for  roughing  through  the  Winter. 
This,  added  to  the  first  cost,  made  each  steer  cost  forty-three 
dollars  and  thirty  cents.  When  sold,  they  brought  an  average 
of  fifty-eight  dollars  per  head,  leaving  fourteen  dollars  and 
seventy  cents  clear.  This  profit,  however,  would  not  be  so 


396  DONIPHAN   COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

i 

large  if  interest  on  the  money  and  taxes  on  the  cattle  were 
taken  out. 

HOGS. 

We  sold  twenty-six  hundred  and  fifty  dollars'  worth  of 
hogs,  which  were  fattened  mostly  by  the  drift  and  waste  from 
these  cattle.  So  the  profit  obtained  would  still  be  larger  than 
I  estimated,  if  the  exact  expense  were  added  to  the  cattle,  and 
the  profit  on  the  hogs  added  to  the  proceeds.  I  have  obtained 
better  results  than  these,  even,  by  raising  the  steers,  and  buy- 
ing them  when  calves  at  weaning  time,  or  at  one  year  old. 

Hogs  can  be  raised  on  my  farm  very  cheaply,  by  means  of 
clover,  with  but  very  little  corn. 

CATTLE  ON  HAND. 

I  now  have  on  hand  some  two  hundred  cows  and  heifers, 
which  will  do  to  breed  next  Spring.  Of  these,  about  one  hun- 
dred are  high  grade.  I  have,  for  the  purpose  of  breeding  to 
these  cows  and  heifers,  fine  thorough-bred  bulls.  I  have  three 
fine  young  thorough-bred  males  of  my  own  raising.  I  keep  a 
few  well  bred  Short-Horn  heifers,  as  I  expect  to  raise  my  own 
breeding  stock  and  have  some  to  sell,  rather  than  to  be  com- 
pelled to  pay  out  several  hundred  dollars  every  year  for  this 
purpose.  I  think  it  highly  important  to  have  the  best  animals 
that  can  be  obtained  for  breeding  purposes.  I  paid  four  hun- 
dred dollars,  this  year,  for  a  calf,  rather  than  use  one  that  did 
not  fill  the  bill,  and  which  I  could  get  for  less  money.  Some  are 
afraid  to  have  their  ground  trampled  a  little  by  stock.  While  I  do 
not  believe  trampling  to  benefit  in  wet  weather,  and  think  that 
they  should  be  kept  off  as  much  as  possible  when  the  ground 
is  soft,  still  I  think  stock  are  almost  indispensable  to  the  suc- 
cess of  a  farm.  I  think  those  farmers  who  keep  no  stock,  but 
run  their  land  every  year  in  corn  and  wheat,  raking  and  burn- 
ing their  stalks,  and  burning  their  straw,  will  soon  complain  of 
poor  crops  and  hard  times.  It  is  hard,  after  a  man  has  raised  a 
poor  crop  of  corn,  to  have  to  haul  it  from  ten  to  fifteen  miles,  and 
sell  it  at  from  fifteen  to  twenty  cents  per  bushel. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  if  plenty  of  stock  is  kept  on  the 


GRAZING  PASTURE  — PEACH  ORCHARD.  397 

farm,  so  that  all  the  straw  and  stalks  are  fed  out,  and  the  ma- 
nure is  hauled  out  on  the  farm,  good  crops  will  come,  and  it 
is  much  easier  and  better  to  drive  a  good  bunch  of  fat  steers  and 
fat  hogs  ten  or  fifteen  miles,  than  to  be  stringing  along  haul- 
ing corn,  when  the  farmer  should  be  at  home  plowing  or  attend- 
ing to  his  stock,  spreading  the  manure  out  over  his  fields,  or 
doing  what  there  may  be  to  do. 

A  GRAZING   PASTURE. 

I  propose  to  add  to  my  farm  about  one  thousand  acres  of 
land,  situated  some  fifty  miles  west,  as  that  is  as  near  as  I  can 
obtain  good  grazing  grounds  cheap,  in  a  body.  I  shall  put  my 
breeding  stock  on  this  ranch,  where  I  can  keep  them  the  year 
round  with  little  expense.  Thorough-bred  cattle  will  be  raised 
on  the  farm,  and  cattle  that  are  about  ready  for  the  market  will 
be  brought  to  the  farm  and  finished  off  in  good  shape  by  feed- 
ing on  tame  grass  and  corn. 

GRAIN  CROPS. 

Of  the  small  grain  crops,  Fall  wheat  is  the  most  profitable 
here,  and  should  be  raised  largely,  as  corn  can  not,  or  should 
not,  be  raised,  more  than  every  other  year,  on  the  same  ground. 
There  is  certainly  no  other  small  grain  raised  with  so  much 
success  or  profit  as  Fall  wheat. 

A  PEACH  ORCHARD. 

One  man  with  a  plow  and  two  or  three  boys  to  drop  peach 
pits,  can  plant  a  peach  orchard  in  one  day,  that  will,  when  three 
years  old,  yield  more  peaches  than  one  family  will  want,  and 
will  make  all  the  firewood  needed  for  three  or  four  years  and 
still  be  a  peach  orchard,  unless,  of  course,  it  should  meet  with 
some  misfortune.  Labor  spent  in  planting  trees  and  hedges, 
and  caring  for  them  while  young,  is  always  well  rewarded. 

Clover,  which  grows  so  finely  in  our  State,  should  not 
be  neglected ;  it  should  be  on  every  farm,  for  it  will  produce 
more  and  better  pasture,  for  five  months  of  the  year,  than 
any  thing  else  used. 


39S  DONIPHAN  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

I.  R.  PIERCE, 

WHITE  CLOUD,   DONIPHAN  COUNTJ. 

The  Most  Advantageous  Manner  of  Planting  Orchards. 

HOW  I  SET  OUT  A  PLANTATION. 

I  have  a  preference  for  the  quincunx  form  in  setting  out  a 
plantation.  You  will  observe,  by  close  attention  to  my  dia- 
gram, that  twenty-one  and  a  half  feet  of  ground  are  saved  by 
adopting  this  form  in  setting  five  rows.  Get  the  trees  thirty 


******* 
FORM  No.  1. 

feet  apart  in  all  directions.  This  saving  of  ground  is  quite  an 
object.  It  saves  about  five  feet  four  and  one-half  inches  to 
each  row  or  space  between  the  rows  of  trees.  Another  advan- 
tage is,  it  is  more  ornamental,  and  if  the  rows  are  set  north  and 
south,  three  rows  form  a  perfect  wind-break  on  the  west  and 
east  sides  of  the  orchard.  When  set  east  and  west,  then  the 
wind-break  is  on  the  north  and  south  sides  of  the  orchard.  To 
set  an  orchard  according  to  No.  1,  or  quincunx  form,  the  plat 
of  ground  to  be  set  to  trees  should  be  squared  as  you  would 
square  the  foundation  for  a  building.  This  may  be  done  in  the 
following  manner:  I  have  always  commenced  at  the  north- 


HOW  TO  PLANT  TREES.  399 

east  corner  of  the  land  to  be  set  in  trees,  by  driving  a  stake  in 
the  ground  at  that  corner,  and  then  setting  two  stakes  on  the. 
line  running  south.  The  first  stake  should  be  about  ten  rods 
distant  from  the  corner,  and  the  second  stake  about  ten  rods 
further  south.  I  have  now,  counting  the  corner  stake,  three 
stakes  in  line  with  my  first  row  of  fruit  trees,  or  the  east  row. 
I  now  set  one  stake  ten  feet  south  of  the  corner  stake,  in  range 
of  the  three  above  named  stakes. 

HOW  TO  SET  STAKES. 

Then  I  set  one  stake  west  of  the  corner  stake,  and  ten 
feet  distant  from  the  corner.  Now  draw  a  line  from  the 
stake  on  the  east  side,  ten  feet  south  of  the  corner,  to  the  cor- 
ner stake,  and  wind  it  once  around  the  corner  stake.  Fasten 
it  to  the  stake  ten  feet  from  the  corner  on  the  north  side. 
Next  take  a  ten-foot  pole,  measure  eight  feet  on  the  east  line, 
beginning  at  the  corner,  and  make  a  mark  on  the  line.  Then 
measure  six  feet  from  the  corner,  on  the  line  running  west,  and 
make  another  mark  on  the  line.  Now  it  requires  two  men  to 
handle  the  ten-foot  pole,  one  at  the  mark  on  the  line  on  the 
east  side,  and  the  other  at  the  mark  on  the  line  running  west 
from  the  corner. 

HOW  TO  TELL  IF  DONE  RIGHT. 

If  these  marks  on  the  lines  are  ten  feet  apart,  the  work  is 
square.  If  they  are  not,  then  move  this  stake  on  the  north  a 
little  further  to  the  north  or  south,  so  as  to  bring  these  marks 
on  the  lines  ten  feet  apart.  Then  your  ground  is  squared. 
Now  set  two  stakes  on  the  north  side  of  the  orchard  ground, 
on  a  line  with  the  corner,  and  a  stake  ten  feet  from  the  corner. 
You  now  have  your  orchard  ground  started  square,  and  you 
can  continue  these  lines  to  any  required  distance  and  it  still 
remains  square.  With  care  you  can  set  your  trees  so  that  they 
will  form  straight  rows  in  all  directions.  If  your  orchard  plat 
does  not  prove  square  you  can  not  make  the  trees  form  straight 
rows  in  all  directions. 

THE   STARTING   PLACE. 

With  regard  to  setting  out  trees  on  the  quincunx  form,  I 


400  DONIPHAN   COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

would  say  that  after  my  stakes  are  set  on  the  east  and  north,  I 
take  up  the  corner  stake  and  set  a  tree  in  its  place,  and  set  a 
row  on  a  line  with  the  stakes  on  the  east  side,  say  thirty  feet 
apart.  Now  one  row  is  set.  Go  to  the  corner  where  you  com- 
menced, and  use  two  sticks  thirty  feet  long.  Place  the  end  of 
one  against  the  corner  tree,  laying  it  on  the  ground  in  a  south- 
west direction.  The  other  stick  must  have  one  end  placed 
against  the  first  tree  south  of  the  corner  tree,  and  be  laid  on 
the  ground  running  in  a  northwest  direction.  Hold  these 
sticks  against  the  trees,  and  bring  the  ends  together.  That 
gives  the  starting  place  for  the  second  row.  Drive  in  a  stake 
at  this  point,  then  take  one  of  the  poles,  put  one  end 
against  this  stake  and  lay  it  on  the  ground  in  an  easterly 
direction,  so  that  it  will  pass  over  the  center  of  the  space  be- 
tween the  first  and  second  trees.  Make  a  mark  on  the  pole  on 
a  line  with  the  row  of  trees.  Now  you  have  the  proper  dis- 
tances at  which  to  set  the  rows.  I  use  but  this  one  pole.  I 
walk  along  the  row  and  lay  the  pole  on  the  ground  with 
the  mark  even  with  a  tree,  and  then  take  a  stake  and  walk  to 
the  end  of  it  and  drive  it  down.  So  on,  until  the  three  stakes 
are  set.  In  this  second  row,  the  first,  or  north  tree,  should  be 
set  fifteen  feet  south  of  the  line  of  stakes  on  the  north  side  of 
the  orchard,  then  the  first  tree  in  the  third  row  would  be  in  a 
line  with  the  stakes  on  the  north  side  of  the  orchard  ground. 

HOW  MANY  TREES   TO  PLANT. 

You  will  see  by  the  compass  circle  in  the  above  form,  that, 
by  placing  one  point  of  the  compasses  on  one  star,  or  tree, 
opening  them  half  an  inch  and  striking  a  circle,  it  touches  six 
trees.  In  this  plan  I  give  to  each  tree  a  circle  of  ground 
to  cover,  so  that  before  growing  so  as  to  touch  each  other 
the  ground  would  be  entirely  covered  or  shaded,  thus  giving 
the  needed  moisture  to  the  young  fruit.  The  quincunx  form 
has  great  advantage  over  the  old  square  form.  I  have  been 
very  particular  in  describing  the  work  of  setting  an  orchard  in 
this  form,  on  account  of  a  mistaken  notion  of  which  I 
will  speak  in  describing  form  No.  2. 


PLANS  FOR  SETTING  OUT.  401 

I  have  ten  acres  in  fruit  trees.  I  have  apples,  pears, 
peaches,  cherries,  and  plums,  which  are  all  set  in  the  above  form. 
Strings  or  ropes  should  not  be  used  in  measuring  distances  at 
which  to  set  fruit  trees,  as  their  elasticity  will  spoil  the  process. 


FORM  No.  2. 

I  have  seen  orchards  set  as  per  form  No.  2,  that  claimed  to 
be  quincunx  form.  But  it  is  easy  to  see  the  mistake.  By  that 
form  the  compass  circle  only  takes  in  four  trees,  with  one  in 
the  center.  Then  again,  in  the  middle  row  in  that  form,  the 
trees  are  about  eighteen  feet  from  those  on  each  side  of  it. 
The  trees  in  rows  are  thirty  feet  apart.  This  is  done  by  setting 
the  trees  in  the  old-fashioned  square  form,  and  then  setting  a 
tree  in  the  center  of  each  square  formed  by  four  trees. 


FORM  No.  3. 

Of  form  No.  3,  or  the  square  form,  I  have  little  to  say, 
only  that  it  takes  about  twenty-one  and  one-half  feet  more 
ground  in  width,  the  entire  length  of  the  orchard,  to  set  five 
rows  of  trees  thirty  feet  apart  each  way,  than  it  requires  for 
five  rows  set  in  the  quincunx  form. 
26 


402  CHASE   COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

F.  C.  SMITH, 

COTTONWOOD,  CHASE  COUNTY. 

A  Small  Farm,    Well    Cultivated. 

ECONOMY  NECESSARY. 

In  the  beginning  of  my  farming,  economy  was  of  the  first 
importance.  My  success  has  been  altogether  due  to  a  strict 
construction  of  that  word.  First,  I  found  that  hired  help  was 
of  no  benefit  to  a  man  in  straightened  circumstances,  such  as  I 
was.  Not  because  there  were  no  good  hands  in  the  country, 
but  from  the  fact  that  the  abundance  of  cheap  lands  led 
men  who  would  be  profitable  as  hired  help  to  obtain  better  em- 
ployment for  themselves  by  becoming  their  own  employers. 
This  left  only  the  unprofitable  ones  to  be  employed. 

MY  AIM. 

Secondly,  how  best  to  make  my  own  labor  profitable  was  a 
problem,  and  as  cattle  and  horses  require  less  labor,  on  account 
of  an  abundance  of  free  pasturage,  I  decided  to  turn  my 
labors  to  stock.  Herein  has  been  my  success.  I  did  not, 
like  many  men,  go  in  debt  for  a  stock  of  cattle  to  start  with, 
but  contented  myself  with  two  cows,  purchased  in  1871.  I 
had  also  two  small  mares. 

In  1873  I  traded  a  little  town  property  that  I  had  for  four 
more  cows  and  another  mare.  I  consider  that  the  most  profit- 
able transaction  of  my  life.  Now  I  have  forty-four  head  of 
first-class  cattle,  and  eight  head  of  horses. 

TREATMENT  OF  CATTLE. 

Kindness  has  been  my  universal  rule  in  handling  my  stock, 
and,  as  a  natural  result,  they  are  always  satisfied  to  stay  near 
home,  having  all  been  raised  on  the  place  and  no  strange  cattle 
permitted  among  them.  No  extra  labor  is  needed  to  keep 
them  from  straying  or  becoming  breachy  for  want  of  care. 


HINTS  ON  SMALL  FARMING.  4Q3 

This  treatment  has  saved  me  hundreds  of  dollars  worth  of 
labor  in  consequence,  while  nearly  all  my  neighbors  have  lost 
by  their  cattle  straying  away  long  distances,  often  becoming 
breachy,  thus  entailing  loss  in  hunting  them,  injury  to  cattle, 
and  often  the  worst  loss  that  can  possibly  befall  a  farmer,  to 
wit:  Money  paid  a  lawyer. 

A  SMALL  FARM,  WELL  MANAGED 

I  have  only  sixteen  acres  under  the  plow,  but  work  it 
well,  and  having  so  few  acres  in  cultivation  I  have  not  been 
compelled  to  mortgage  to  get  seed  to  cultivate  with.  Some 
have  said  I  did  not  "branch  out"  enough  ;  but  I  have  seen  a 
good  many  men  driven  into  bankruptcy  in  that  way.  I  have 
done  my  farming  in  my  own  way,  and  for  the  benefit  of  myself 
and  family. 

GOOD  FENCES. 

The  fence  around  my  little  farm  is  not  of  the  very  best, 
but  the  "eye  of  the  master  is  always  upon  it,"  and  a  rail  ia 
never  permitted  to  be  long  out  of  place.     Whenever  a  set  of 
bars  are  put  up,  they  are  not  left  in  such  a  slipshod  condition' 
that  the  first  brute  that  comes  along  will  go  through.     When  I 
feed  I  do  not  throw  it  all  down  in  a  heap,  and  let  the  strongest, 
creature  eat  a  little  and  spoil  the  remainder,  so  that  the  weaker- 
animals  either  have  to  starve  or  forage  for  themselves,  but  I 
manage  that  all  share  alike  and  all  are  alike  filled  and  con- 
tented.    My  objection  to  hired  help  is  that  they  generally  act- 
as  though  they  felt  it  beneath  their  dignity  to  go  down  into* 
small  details  ;  or,  in  other  words,  they  consider  the  looking 
after  such  small  things  as  the  result  of  stinginess.  But  since  the 
looking  after  minor  details  has  been  profitable  so  far,  I  shall 
continue  to  do  so.  ; 


404  CRAWFORD  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

H.  G.  POTTER, 

BEULAH.   CRAWFORD   COUNTY. 
A  Stock  Farm  —  Self-  Feeding  Corn  Crib. 

My  farm  is  situated  five  miles  south  of  Girard,  on  the 
Kansas  Pacific,  Fort  Scott  and  Gulf  railroad,  and  comprises 
four  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  enclosed  by  fence,  made  of  two 
boards  at  the  bottom,  and  two  wires  above,  fastened  to  wooden 
posts.  For  a  hedge,  Osage  orange  is  planted,  and  in  four, 
sometimes  three  years  time,  will  turn  cattle.  Cultivating 
and  mulching  will  hasten  its  growth,  and  when  properly  trim- 
med it  makes  a  desirable  and  beautiful  fence. 

CATTLE  AND   HOGS. 

Fattening  and  shipping  beef  and  pork  is  my  specialty. 
One  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  the  four  hundred  and  twenty 
acres  are  sown  to  timothy  and  clover,  which  have  done  well ; 
sixty  more  are  to  be  put  into  blue  grass  the  coming  Spring. 
My  arrangements  for  feeding  large  numbers  of  cattle  with 
comparatively  small  expense  are  very  complete.  My  yard  is 
fenced  by  a  high,  tight  fence.  Just  outside  the  yard  are  stacks 
•of  hay  containing  from  one  to  two  hundred  tons,  and  a  corn 
-crib,  self-feeder,  holding  a  thousand  bushels  of  corn  stands  in 
the  center  of  the  yard. 

I  believe  the  Durhams  are  the  best  stock  for  fattening 
purposes.  Buy  young  stock  and  turn  it  into  the  fields.  When 
it  is  ready  for  beef  I  ship  to  market,  and  buy  again.  Since 
last  March  I  have  shipped  nine  car  loads  of  beef  and  pork.  I 
raise  but  a  small  proportion  of  wheat. 

Among  the  various  breeds  of  hogs,  for  quick  fattening  and 
quick  returns,  I  prefer  the  Poland  China.  Last  year,  one  seven- 
teen months  Poland  China  weighed  six  hundred  and  forty 
pounds ;  and  when  looking  over  my  stock  I  saw  several  of 
good  size,  though  I  had  just  shipped  what  I  regarded  as  my 


SELF  FEEDING  CORN   CRIB. 


405 


best.     I  had  about  forty  and  a  few  small  ones  in  the  yards. 
I  also  had  two  hundred  head  of  cattle. 

PERPETUAL  FEEDER   FOR  STOCK. 

This  crib  has  wide  feeding  troughs  on  the  two  sides,  just 
about  high  enough  for  cattle  to  feed  in  and  help  themselves  to 
corn.  If  the  corn  does  not  fall  in  sufficient  quantities  of  itself  a 
slight  touch  of  the  hand  will  be  sufficient.  The  corn  that  falls  to 
the  ground  by  the  cattle,  the  porkers  stand  ready  to  catch ;  or 
if  any  is  left  in  the  troughs  it  is  thrown  out,  and  in  this  way 
both  cattle  and  hogs  have  enough  and  plenty  to  fatten  well 
without  the  carrying  of  hay  or  grain,  and  they  are  also  shel- 
tered from  storms. 

One  man  or  boy  is  all  the  help  I  have. 

SELF  FEEDING    CORN   CRIB. 


CORN. 


Tli o  trough  Is  on  both 
sides,  eust  and  west. 


South  End 
of  Crib. 


WATER. 

I  have  an  opening  through  the  fence  and  stacks  which 
leads  out  to  the  field  and  to  a  pond  of  water,  which  is  con- 
structed by  building  a  dam  across  the  ravine.  It  has  nine  feet 
of  water,  pure  and  clear,  so  that  fish  have  found  a  home  in  it. 


4QG  PAWNEE  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

This  is  as  cheap  and  effective  a  way  of  feeding  and  watering 
stock  as  can  be  devised.  I  think  that  similar  ponds  might  be 
made  for  raising  fish,  though  I  have  never  given  any  attention  to 
the  matter.  There  are  several  of  these  artificial  ponds  in  the 
county;  two  are  in  Girard,  which  are  used  as  reservoirs  for 
steam  flour  mills.  They  are  durable  and  inexpensive. 

The  sub-soil  is  of  clay.     Tree  planting  around  these  ponds 
affords  a  comfortable  shade  and  beautifies  the  landscape. 


W.  H.  GILL, 

LARNED,  PAWNEE  COUNTY. 

Winter  Wheat  —  Cost  of  Raising  the  Crop  —  Rye  —  Dairying  — 
Climate  and  Advantages. 

WINTER    WHEAT. 

This  has  been  and  is  my  main  crop.  Its  average  has  been 
twenty  bushels  per  acre,  except  the  last  year,  when  it  was  cut 
short  by  drouth.  I  have  succeeded  best  on  early  plowing.  I 
use  sulky  plows  (sixteen  inch),  three  horses  or  mules  to  the 
plow. 

CULTIVATION. 

I  turn  the  ground  up  at  least  eight  inches  deep,  and  har- 
row down  with  a  Thomas  smoothing  harrow.  I  always  run  the 
roller  over  right  behind  the  harrow.  This  is  done  to  thoroughly 
pulverize  the  ground  and  also  to  retain  the  moisture.  I  use 
drills  for  seeding,  putting  in  only  one  bushel  per  acre.  I  have 
experimented  with  larger  and  smaller  quantities,  and  find  the 
best  results  from  one  bushel  per  acre.  I  commence  sowing  the 
1st  of  September,  and  get  done  by  the  25th,  if  possible.  I  use 
Hodge's  Header  for  cutting  ;  find  it  very  durable.  I  cut  from 
twenty  to  twenty-five  acres  per  day:  I  stack  the  heads  in  long, 
narrow  ricks,  top  the  ricks  up  sharp,  and  hang  them  off  with 
cords  or  small  wire,  with  rocks  or  weights  on  their  ends. 


COST  OF  WHEAT— STOCK.  407 

I  have  my  own  thresher,  a  three-horse  endless  chain  power, 
and  a  No.  3  Westinghouse  separator.  With  this  I  have  re- 
peatedly threshed  500  bushels  per  day. 

WHAT  IT   COSTS  TO   RAISE  WHEAT. 

The  cost  of  raising  wheat  is  about  as  follows : 
Plowing,  per  acre,  -  $1.25 

Preparing  ground,  per  acre,      -  .75 

Seed,  "  -  1.00 

Cutting  and  stacking,  "  -  2.00 

Threshing,  "  1.60 

Total,  -  -    $6.00 

Allowing  20  bushels  per  acre=33  cents. 
I  can  hire  the  work  done  at  above  figures.     Wheat  has 
ranged  from  eighty  cents  to  one  dollar  per  bushel  the  five  years 
I  have  been  here.     I  raised  and  threshed  the  first  wheat,  rye, 
oats,  and  barley  in  the  county. 

RYE. 

This  grain  succeeds  well  here.  I  prepare  the  ground  as 
for  wheat.  It  yields  about  twenty-five  bushels  per  acre.  When 
sown  the  20th  of  August,  it  makes  good  Fall  and  Winter 
pasture.  I  have  forty  acres  now  furnishing  excellent  pasture 
for  milch  cows  and  calves. 

BARLEY. 

Barley  yields  from  thirty  to  forty  bushels  per  acre.  Oats 
average  from  forty  to  seventy-five  bushels  per  acre. 

CARE  OP  STOCK. 

My  cows  are  grade,  crossed  with  a  Short-Horn  bull.  These 
cows  make  good  milkers,  and  the  steers  make  good  beef.  My 
cattle  have  sheds  provided  for  stormy  weather,  though  many 
large  herds  in  this  county  are  kept  without  any  shelter,  and 
their  only  feed  is  the  buffalo  grass  which  they  get  on  the  range. 

THE   DAIRY. 

I  use  the  Cooley  creamers.  They  are  just  being  intro- 
duced into  this  county,  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  those  using 
them.  The  creamer  is  a  box  in  which  is  placed  deep  zinc  cans. 


408  PAWNEE  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

The  cans,  when  filled  with  milk,  are  submerged  in  water,  which 
can  be  kept  cool  in  Summer  and  warm  in  Winter ;  that  is,  above 
freezing  point.  Cream  rises  readily  in  twelve  hours. 

POULTRY. 

Poultry  does  well  here.  The  chicken  I  like  best  is  a  cross 
of  the  Brown  Leghorn  and  common  fowl.  They  make  good 
layers,  and  are  good  for  table  use.  My  hen  house  is  a  sod 
building,  fourteen  by  twenty  feet,  covered  with  coarse  prairie 
hay.  This  is  a  warm  house  for  their  Winter  use,  and  cool  for 
Summer.  I  ship  my  surplus  butter,  eggs,  and  dressed  poultry 
to  the  mining  regions  of  Colorado,  where  they  command  a  good 
price. 

SOIL. 

The  land  here  does  not  need  draining,  as  it  does  in  the 
Eastern  States.  It  is  of  a  dark,  deep,  and  somewhat  sandy 
nature.  Water  is  absorbed  or  taken  in  readily,  the  sub-soil 
being  of  a  porous  nature.  I  am  seldom  troubled  by  surface 
water.  The  land  is  prairie,  slightly  undulating,  and  retains 
moisture  well.  It  is  easily  subdued  from  its  wild  state.  Good 
wells  are  abundant.  I  have  two  wells,  one  seventeen,  the  other 
nineteen  feet  deep.  They  aFord  plenty  of  water  for  all  pur- 
poses. I  have  never  known  a  well  to  fail  in  this  country. 

THE  CLIMATE. 

Extreme  heat  or  cold  is  never  of  long  duration  here.  Our 
Winters  are  short  and  moderate.  I  know  of  no  country  where 
a  beginner  can  start  in  the  world  more  easily,  or  with  more 
certainty  of  success  than  in  Southwestern  Kansas,  any  where 
along  the  great  Arkansas  Valley.  Homesteads  are  still  to  be 
had  here,  and  improved  land  sells  from  four  to  twelve  dollars 
per  acre.  I  was  raised  in  Central  Ohio.  Lived  thirty  years  in 
Southeastern  Iowa,  and  during  the  late  war  I  traveled  over 
most  of  the  Southern  States,  but  have  never  found  a  more 
desirable  place  to  live  in,  or  one  that  suited  me  so  well  as 
Southwestern  Kansas. 


A  SHEEP  FARM.  409 


JAMES  SCHOFIELD. 

GIRARD,   CRAWFORD   COUNTY. 

A    Sheep    Farm  —  Durham    Cattle  —  Fuel  —  Fruit  —  Corn 

Culture. 

My  farm  contains  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  and 
may  be  considered  a  fair  specimen  of  mixed  farming.  It  is 
fenced  with  hedge,  although  some  of  it  is  too  young  to  turn 
stock.  The  land  is  rolling  prairie,  and  there  is  a  pond  of  water 
affording  water  for  stock  the  greater  part  of  the  year.  I  have 
a  splendid  spring  of  living  water,  which  has  never  failed  in  the 
dryest  weather. 

SHEEP  MY  SPECIALTY. 

My  specialty  among  stock  is  the  breeding  of  sheep,  and  I 
make  it  a  point  to  secure  the  best  grades  of  all  kinds,  both  in 
sheep,  cattle,  and  hogs.  I  think  there  is  no  stock  so  profitable 
for  both  wool  and  mutton  as  the  Cotswold.  They  require  a 
change  of  feed  and  of  pasture,  and  must  be  kept  on  high,  dry 
lands.  River  bottoms  will  not  do.  My  plan  is  to  feed  my  sheep 
corn  fodder,  oats,  and  hay.  They  should  not  be  kept  in  too 
large  bodies,  for  they  do  much  better  in  small  flocks  of  about 
one  hundred.  I  have  two  hundred  and  twenty ;  about  one-half 
are  full  bloods  that  cost  me  eight  dollars  per  head.  Last  Spring 
I  clipped  from  them  about  eleven  pounds  of  wool  apisce,  which 
I  sold  at  twenty-three  cents,  as  wool  was  very  low  then. 
I  can  not  give  as  full  particulars  about  the  profit  of  sheep-rais- 
ing as  I  would  like  to,  not  having  been  in  the  business  long 
enough  to  speak  for  certainty  as  to  what  results  could  be 
attained.  It  is  my  opinion,  however,  that  sheep-raising  can  be 
made  quite  profitable  in  Kansas.  I  have  specimens  of  wool 
from  the  Cotswold  that  were  as  fine  as  any  ever  seen,  its  length 
being  from  five  to  eleven  inches,  or  an  average  of  eight 
inches. 

CATTLE-RAISING. 

Now,  in  regard  to  cattle-raising,  I  think  the  Short-Horned 


410  CRAWFORD  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

Durham  the  best  for  beef,  and  the  graded  stock  best  for  milk. 
I  should  say  as  to  both,  however,  that  the  Short-Horns  are  the 
most  profitable. 

SHEEP  SHEDS. 

My  yards  are  provided  with  sheds,  a  part  of  which  have 
thatched  roofs,  as  sheep  require  more  shelter  than  other  stock. 

AN  ORCHARD   STARTED. 

I  started  a  fine  orchard  of  four  hundred  trees,  two  hundred 
apple,  one  hundred  peach,  the  remainder  being  cherries,  pears, 
and  quince.  The  apple  and  peach  trees  are  remarkably 
thrifty.  My  peaches  are,  many  of  them,  seedlings,  and  are 
particularly  fine.  One  variety  of  large  yellow  planted,  has 
reproduced  its  kind,  or  strongly  resembling  it,  as  was  shown 
by  a  few  specimens  grown  the  fourth  year. 

COAL. 

The  fuel  used  throughout  southeastern  Kansas  is  coal,  of 
an  excellent  quality,  and  found  in  large  quantities.  It  is  drawn 
from  coal  banks  eight  or  nine  miles  away,  and  is  delivered  at 
our  door  in  Girard  for  seven  cents  per  bushel,  being  about  one 
dollar  and  fifty  cents  per  ton.  In  severe  weather  it  occasionally 
advances  to  two  dollars  per  ton,  which  is  certainly  far  better 
than  the  southwestern  counties  fare,  for  it  comes  to  them  at  a 
cost  of  twenty  dollars  per  ton.  In  looking  for  a  home,  this 
saving  in  the  cost  of  fuel  is  certainly  a  great  item. 

TIMBER. 

Timber  is  scarce,  except  on  the  streams,  and  much  atten- 
tion has  been  paid  to  tree  planting.  Many  varieties  grow 
rapidly,  and  now  that  fires  are  not  allowed  to  run  over  the 
prairies,  it  will  not  take  many  years  to  have  young,  thrifty 
trees,  for  ornament  and  for  use  as  well.  The  poplars  are  often 
planted  for  wind-breaks.  Locust,  walnut,  soft  maple,  catalpa, 
and  evergreens,  are  set  out  for  use  and  beauty. 

The  rainfall  is  greater  where  timber  is  grown,  as  expe- 
rience has  plainly  taught  us.  Wild  cherries  and  plums,  and  in 
some  places  willow  and  sycamore,  and  a  few  hard  maples,  have 


GRAPE -GROWING  — PLANTING  CORN. 

been  planted.  Below  us,  in  the  Indian  country,  and  Arkansas, 
are  extensive  pine  regions,  and  various  other  evergreens. 
This  supply  will  eventually  result  in  cheapening  lumber. 

GRAPE-GROWING. 

Grapes  can  be  made  wonderfully  productive  and  profita- 
ble. Many  varieties  have  been  tried  here.  The  Hartford  Pro- 
lific, Concord  (the  Concord  is  surest),  Isabella,  Catawba, 
Agawam,  and  the  sweet  and  delicious  Dracut  Amber,  with 
very  little  protection,  can  be  well  grown. 

OTHER  GROWTHS. 

Broom-corn  is  grown  with  great  success,  and  from  the 
sorghum  or  sugar-cane  some  sirups  of  excellent  qualities  have 
been  made  ;  castor  beans,  which  ought  to  be  kept  here  and 
manufactured,  are  shipped  away  to  manufacture  ;  flax  culture 
is  not  carried  on  as  it  should  be,  being  only  raised  for  seed, 
while  the  fiber  is  used  for  thatching  sheds.  Cattle  will  eat 
flax  straw  for  the  sake  of  the  seed  left  when  threshed,  but  in  the 
face  of  this  fact,  ton  upon  ton  is  left  rotting  on  the  threshing 
ground.  Capital  could  remedy  all  this,  so  that  factories  would 
grow  among  us.  Silk,  too,  has  been  tried  with  success,  and 
beautiful  specimens  have  been  shown  at  county  fairs.  Cotton 
and  tobacco  are  raised  with  some  success,  the  latter  for  home 
consumption. 

MANNER  OF  PLANTING   CORN. 

To  speak  of  the  manner  of  growing  corn  will,  perhaps,  be 
too  old  a  subject,  but  to  Eastern  new  comers  it  may  be  helpful. 
Plow  deep  and  in  the  Fall,  both  for  corn  and  potatoes,  to  insure 
early  crops.  Harrow  thoroughly  in  Spring.  After  harrow- 
ing till  the  ground  is  soft  and  mellow,  mark  the  fields  both  ways, 
and  plant  corn  either  by  a  hand  planter,  or  by  riding  a  double 
planter.  This,  last  is  frequently  done  by  boys,  and  sometimes 
one  girl  will  drive,  while  another  one  works  the  lever  for  plant- 
ing. Plant  rather  thickly.  When  the  corn  is  up  so  that  you 
can  see  the  rows  both  ways,  put  in  your  lighter  harrow  again. 
This  harrowing  destroys  the  first  crop  of  weeds.  Soon  after, 
go  over  the  same  way,  so  as  to  kill  a  second  crop  of  weeds. 


412  NEMAHA  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

When  gone  over  this  way  it  may  now  and  then  pull  up  a  stalk 
or  so,  but  no  harm  will  be  done  ;  on  the  contrary,  the  corn  will 
grow  the  better.  After  it  reaches  six  or  eight  inches  in  hight, 
take  a  walking  or  riding  cultivator  and  go  over  it  three  times  ; 
by  that  time  it  will  be  too  high  for  the  two-horse  cultivator, 
and  if  it  should  still  be  weedy,  go  over  with  a  one-horse  cul- 
tivator, as  the  crop  will  stand  drouth  well  and  ear  better. 
Farmers  are  fully  paid  who  cultivate  their  fields  of  corn  well. 
Your  work  pays  better,  because  you  can  feed  your  stock  better. 
It  is  the  experience  of  farmers  in  southeastern  Kansas,  that 
the  corn  crop  thoroughly  worked  results  favorably  every 
season.  If  Fall  plowing  can  not  be  done,  owing  to  bad  weather, 
plow  at  the  earliest  moment  in  Spring,  and  let  lie  awhile  be- 
fore harrowing  and  planting.  Wheat  is  always  best  when 
sown  in  well-prepared  ground,  about  the  first  of  September. 


I.  HODGINS, 

CENTRALIA,     NEMAHA      COUNTY. 

How   to    raise  Stock  —  Hay  -  rack  —  Feeding  Stock  —  Dairying 
—  Sheep  —  Sheep-rack. 

Nemaha  county  farmers  adopt  as  the  most  remunerative 
branches  of  farming,  the  raising  of  stock,  fattening  of  cattle  and 
hogs  for  Eastern  markets,  and  dairying.  Any  process  that  will 
convert  to  use  the  rich  and  abundant  pasturage  furnished  by 
these  broad  prairies,  and  also  use  to  the  best  advantage  our 
large  crops  of  corn  and  other  grains,  is  the  end  most  eagerly 
sought.  The  production  of  meat  is  especially  remunerative 
when  properly  conducted. 

HOW   TO   EAISE   STOCK. 

The  usual  plan  pursued  here  is  to  select  a  location  that 
has  good  water.  Enclose  the  stock  yard  with  a  tight  board 
fence,  and  furnish  it  also  with  sheds,  hay-rack  and  feed- 


A  GOOD  HAY  RACK.  413 

ing  boxes.  There  should  also  be  a  row  of  sleeping  pens  for 
hogs,  made  ten  feet  square  or  a  little  less,  with  open  entrances. 
This  will  prevent  their  huddling  together  in  large  masses  to 
sleep,  in  cold  nights,  and  consequently  from  cooling  off  too 
quickly  in  the  morning,  thereby  causing  lung-fever  and  death. 
The  feeding  boxes  should  be  made  ten  feet  long,  six  feet  wide, 
and  eight  inches  deep,  and  should  stand  on  legs  that  are  two 
and  a  half  feet  high.  No  matter  how  many  cracks  or  holes 
there  may  be  in  them,  as  it  is  the  hogs'  business  to  pick  up  all 
the  corn  that  drops.  There  should  be  one  of  these  boxes  for 
every  eight  head  of  cattle. 

A  GOOD  HAT    BACK. 

I  made  a  good  hay-rack,  which  has  stood  for  several  years, 
in  this  manner :  I  took  rails  ten  feet  long,  and  some  large  wire. 
Made  the  rack  four  feet  wide  at  the  bottom,  seven  feet  wide 
at  the  top,  and  over  one  hundred  feet  long.  I  set  a  center  row 
of  rails  in  the  ground  eight  feet  apart,  lay  a  rail  on  the  ground 
crosswise  close  to  each  and  wire  ;  another  rail  in  the  middle,  one 
foot  from  the  top  of  the  upright.  I  stand  up  two  cross-rails  thus 
X  for  traces,  and  two  more  rails  for  corners,  four  feet  apart  at 
the  Bottom,  and  seven  feet  at  the  top.  This  represents  the  end 
of  cr.ch  section  of  eight  feet. 

Now  lay  a  rail  lengthwise  on  the  cross-rail  on  the  ground, 
and  another  one  on  the  top  cross-rail,  and  also  one  in  the  forks 
where  the  brace  crosses  the  upright.  This  should  be  about 
two  and  a  half  feet  from  the  ground.  Then  stand  up  rails  on 
the  inside,  two  feet  apart.  Wire  them  fast  in  three  places. 
Extend  it  any  desired  length.  Wire  ever}-  intersection,  and  it 
will  stand  as  long  as  the  timber  lasts.  Feed  steers  that  are 
two  and  three  years  old,  and  hogs  of  all  ages. 

FEEDING   STOCK. 

Farmers  here  feed  from  twecty-five  to  two  hundred  and 
fifty  steers  and  an  equal  number  of  hogs  together.  Feed 
lightly  at  first,  and  after  they  are  accustomed  to  it,  always 
keep  corn  in  the  ear  in  the  boxes.  Don't  neglect  to  keep  salt 
and  ashes  where  cattle  and  hogs  can  have  access  to  it,  and  also 


414  NEMAHA  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

coal  for  the  hogs.     Money  that  has  been  invested  in  stock  and 
feed  may  be  nearly  doubled  in  six  months. 

THE    DAIRYING  INTEREST. 

This  interest  is  quite  largely  represented  in  this  county. 
We  have  three  cheese  factories — two  in  Centralia  and  one  in 
Oneida,  both  working  on  the  co-operative  plan,  and  producing 
in  the  aggregate  about  350,000  pounds  of  cheese  annually. 
Butter  in  large  quantities  is  shipped  to  the  Eastern  markets  at 
all  points,  on  both  of  our  railroads.  Here  let  me  say  to  your 
brother  farmers,  who  have  not  the  best  facilities  for  making 
butter,  that  you  may  improve  the  quality  of  that  product  very 
much,  by  skimming  off  the  cream  as  soon  as  the  milk  changes. 
Keep  the  cream  in  a  tin  cooler  made  about  eight  inches  in 
diameter,  and  deep  enough  to  hold  a  sufficient  quantity  for  one 
churning.  Hang  the  cooler  in  the  well  until  the  cream  is 
wanted  for  churning,  and  on  this  plan,  taking  the  greatest  possible 
care  to  be  cleanly  in  every  operation,  your  butter  may  be  brought 
fully  up  to  the  first  grade.  It  has  been  proven  that  the 
native  grasses  of  the  prairies  will  make  cheese  and  butter 
equal  in  quality  to  any  of  the  tame  grasses. 

SHEEP  RAISING  BECOMING  POPULAR. 

Sheep  husbandry  is  rapidly  growing  in  favor  here,  and 
is  a  sure  and  safe-paying  business.  The  climate  and  herbage 
are  particularly  well  adapted  to  the  health  of  sheep.  A  neigh- 
bor of  mine  who  keeps  a  few  hundred,  is  well  satisfied  that  the 
investment  is  quite  profitable,  and  the  old  adage  has  proved 
very  true  in  his  case  "that  sheep's  feet  make  golden  tracks." 
The  Cotswold  is  the  breed  preferred,  and  I  think  their  various 
good  qualities  are  hard  to  beat. 

A   SHEEP   BARN. 

The  following  plan  is  a  good  one  for  sheep  barns  or  sheds: 
The  rack  is  on  the  inside  of  the  wall  of  the  building  with  the 
bottom  close  to  the  wall  while  the  top  slants  in,  and  is  four  feet 
from  the  wall.  It  is  supplied  with  hay  through  a  long  door 
winch  opens  on  the  outside,  even  with  the  top  of  the  rack, 


TIME  TO  PLANT  BEANS.  415 

against  blocks  which  hold  it  at  an  angle  of  about  forty-five 
degrees.  This  position  conducts  the  hay  well  into  the  rack, 
but  if  the  building  has  a  hay-loft,  the  hay  may  be  supplied 
through  a  perpendicular  opening  down  the  side  of  the  buildingt 
Another  door  below  opens  the  same  way  into  the  feed-boxes, 
and  permits  the  boxes  to  be  cleaned  with  greater  ease,  and 
conveys  the  grain  more  readily  into  them.  Be  assured  that  it 
pays  to  feed  all  domestic  animals  well. 


D.  W.  KINGSLEY, 

INDEPENDENCE,  MONTGOMERY  COUNTY. 
Castor  Beans  —  Broom  Corn. 

I  have  paid  considerable  attention  to  the  cultivation  of 
castor  beans,  broom  corn,  and  flax.  I  find  the  castor  beans  the 
most  profitable,  because  the  crop  may  be  gathered  by  such  help 
upon  the  farm  as  is  not  considered  able  to  do  a  full  day's 
work  at  the  ordinary  farm  labor. 

WHEN  TO  PLANT. 

I  plant  the  castor  beans  as  early  in  the  Spring  as  the  seed 
can  be  put  in  the  ground.  I  prepare  the  ground  in  the  same 
way  I  would  for  corn,  and  plant  about  the  same  distance  each 
way.  More  care  is  necessary  to  get  the  rows  straight.  I  plant 
with  a  corn  planter,  but  a  more  uniform  stand  is  obtained  by 
hand,  covering  about  an  inch  deep  some  two  or  three  grains  in 
a  hill.  When  the  plants  are  well  started  —  about  six  inches 
high  —  I  thin  to  one  stalk  in  a  hill.  The  cultivation  must  be 
thorough  enough  to  keep  the  ground  free  from  weeds.  I  have 
a  friend  who  has  made  a  specialty  of  raising  castor  beans  and 
broom  corn,  and  he  plants  his  beans  in  November.  He  was  led 
to  adopt  that  plan  by  seeing  the  beans  that  had  dropped 
from  the  pods  come  up  so  finely  next  season.  This  volunteer 
crop  is  earlier  and  more  vigorous  than  that  planted  in  the 


416  MONTGOMERY  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

Spring.  This  same  gentleman  also  plants  Early  Rose  potatoes 
in  the  Fall  and  gets  potatoes  twenty  days  earlier  than  by  the 
earliest  Spring  planting.  He  also  plants  black  seed  onions  in 
the  Fall  and  Winter. 

It  is  important  to  have  castor  beans  planted  early,  so  as  to 
insure  a  long  maturing  season,  as  they  will  continue  to  ripen 
generally  until  the  frost  comes.  The  gathering  commenced  in 
1879  in  July. 

SECURING  THE  CROP. 

All  the  preparations  for  gathering  must  be  made  before 
the  crop  begins  to  ripen.  The  floor  or  bed  to  spread  the  spikes 
upon  may  be  made  by  scraping  perfectly  smooth  a  piece  of 
ground  about  six  to  eight  square  rods  for  every  ten  acres 
planted,  leaving  a  wall  of  sod  or  dirt  about  two  or  three  feet 
high,  to  keep  the  beans  from  flying  off  and  wasting.  This 
floor  should  be  free  from  gravel,  as  that  will  work  up  in  sweep- 
ing. If  the  floor  is  near  the  field,  it  is  very  convenient  to 
gather  the  crop  on  a  sled,  with  a  long  and  high  box,  narrow 
enough  to  pass  between  the  rows.  One  horse  can  draw  such  a 
sled.  If  the  floor  is  not  near  enough  to  be  convenient  to  use  a 
sled,  the  two-horse  wagon  may  be  used  by  driving  over  the 
ninth  row,  and  gathering  four  rows  on  each  side.  At  each 
picking  I  always  drive  over  the  same  row,  in  the  same  direc- 
tion. In  gathering,  only  those  spikes  are  to  be  cut  that  have 
some  of  the  pods  cracked  open.  If  they  are  cut  too  green  the 
pods  will  dry  up  without  opening,  but  if  left  too  long  the  pods 
will  open  and  drop  their  kernels.  These  are  to  be  spread  upon 
the  floor  thinly  enough  to  permit  the  sun  to  open  the  pods  and 
let  the  grains  out.  This  work  may  be  hastened  by  stirring 
them  with  a  rake.  No  threshing  is  necessary.  When  the 
pods  have  all  burst  open,  the  sterns  must  be  raked  out, 
the  gathering  swept  up,  and  the  beans  separated  from  the 
hulls  in  a  fanning  mill.  If  the  mill  is  so  arranged  that  the 
beans  may  come  out  at  the  side  in  a  spout,  it  is  better  than  to 
come  down  behind  the  mill.  When  thus  cleaned,  they  are 
ready  for  market.  Great  care  should  be  taken  that  none  of 


CASTOR  BEANS  — BROOM  CORN.  417 

the  beans  are  left  where  they  will  get  into  the  feed  of  horses  or 
cattle. 

CASTOR  BEANS  AS   FERTILIZERS. 

One  great  advantage  in  raising  castor  beans  is  the  effect 
the  crop  has  upon  the  land  as  a  fertilizer.  It  seems  to  be 
almost  equal  to  a  crop  of  clover.  Some  think  the  good  effects 
produced  are  by  the  action  of  the  plant  in  neutralizing  the 
acids  of  the  soil,  so  that  crops  that  follow  may  utilize  those 
properties  of  the  soil  that  otherwise  would  be  locked  up  and 
unavailable.  Others  think  that  the  plant  draws  largely  upon 
the  elements  of  the  air,  and  by  so  doing  attracts  and  gathers 
into  the  soil  and  lays  up  for  future  use  those  elements  neces- 
sary for  plant  food.  Whatever  may  be  the  cause,  the  result  is 
certainly  favorable.  I  have,  in  sowing  wheat  or  flax  on  ground 
where  wheat  and  castor  beans  had  been  grown,  seen  a  marked 
difference  as  soon  as  the  wheat  came  up,  and  the  difference  was 
more  perceptible  as  the  season  advanced,  until  the  harvest. 

YIELD  PER  ACRE. 

The  yield  per  acre  will  be  in  proportion  to  the  fertility  of 
the  soil.  On  medium  upland,  eight  to  twelve  bushels  per  acre 
is  considered  a  fair  crop ;  but  there  have  been  some  crops  on 
bottom  land  reported  as  yielding  twenty  to  thirty  bushels  per 
acre.  Prices  have  ranged  from  seventy  cents  to  one  dollar  and 

ten  cents,  in  the  years  1878  and  1879. 

t 

BROOM   CORN. 

One  of  the  advantages  of  raising  broom  corn  is  that  it 
utilizes  the  newly  broken  prairie  sod,  as  it  proves  a  very  good 
crop  on  sod  without  any  cultivation,  no  labor  being  needed,  ex- 
cept to  plant  and  harvest.  The  yield  is  better  on  good,  well 
prepared  soil,  but  even  on  sod  the  crop  is  sometimes  remunera- 
tive enough  to  pay  for  the  same  area  of  land  on  a  good  farm. 
The  principal  obstacle  to  overcome  is  the  lack  of  shed  room  in 
which  to  cure  the  brush. 

Planting  should  be  about  the  same  time  that  corn  is  planted, 
in  rows  three  to  four  feet  apart,  the  hills  being  every  one  to  two 
feet  in  the  row,  with  five  to  eight  seeds  in  each.  If  old  ground 
27 


418  MONTGOMERY  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

is  used,  more  seed  should  be  planted,  which  must  be  covered 
slightly,  and,  when  started,  thinned  to  about  eight  stalks  in  a 
hill.  A  thorough  cultivation  facilitates  a  rank  growth  and 
early  maturity.  If  the  ground  is  foul  I  do  some  hand  hoeing. 
Plenty  of  shed  room  should  be  supplied  before  the  harvesting 
begins,  and  scaffolding  prepared,  so  that  the  harvesting  may 
not  be  interrupted.  I  sometimes  prepare  store  room  by  nailing 
strips  of  lath  on  any  boards,  poles,  or  rails,  about  six  inches 
apart,  in  the  form  of  a  ladder,  and  then  stand  the  ladders  up  so 
as  to  make  a  wall  of  them.  I  then  put  laths  across  to  lay  the 
brush  on,  after  it  is  cleaned.  If  properly  put  away,  two  thou- 
sand cubic  feet  will  be  room  enough  to  cure  a  ton  of  brush. 
In  the  climate  of  southern  Kansas,  the  same  room  may  be  used 
for  several  lots  of  brush,  and  if  taken  at  the  right  time  and 
cured  in  the  shade,  an  article  may  be  prepared  that  will  go  into 
the  market  East  of  first  quality.  Most  of  the  harvesting  can 
be  done  in  August  and  September. 

CUTTIXG  THE  CORN. 

I  begin  cutting  as  soon  as  the  seed  is  fairly  formed,  unless 
the  seed  is  an  object  for  feed.  The  main  part  of  the  crop  I 
take  off  by  cutting  about  six  inches  below  the  brush,  and  draw- 
ing right  to  the  scraping  machine.  I  scrape  off  seed  immedi- 
ately, and  the  brush  I  put  upon  the  racks  about  four  to  six 
inches  thick  to  dry,  while  it  is  perfectly  green.  I  thus  secure 
a  beautiful  pea  green,  and  the  hurl  is  pliable,  lasts  well,  and  is 
sought  for. in  the  market.  • 

HOW  TO  MAKE  A  SCRAPER. 

I  make  a  scraper  by  encasing  a  common  cylinder  of  a 
threshing  machine  with  narrow  stuff  two  inches  thick,  filled 
with  wrought  spikes  or  nails,  and  mounting  it  on  a  frame 
so  as  to  revolve  from  the  feeder.  A  rest  must  be  secured  to 
protect  the  feeder's  hands.  This  may  be  run  by  any  power 
sufficient  to  run  it.  There  is  machinery  prepared  expressly  for 
scraping  broom  corn,  which  can  be  driven  by  a  small  power,  or 
even  a  windmill,  and  the  same  power  may  be  used  for  other 
purposes,  such  as  shelling  and  grinding  corn,  and  sawing  wood. 


JUDICIOUS  FERTILIZING  419 

Any  good  hay  press  may  be  used  that  will  leave  the  bales 
in  good  shape  to  pack  in  a  car,  if  it  is  wished.  In  some  mar- 
kets the  tall  corn  is  most  preferred,  but  in  Southern  Kansas  it 
grows  so  rank  that  it  is  too  coarse.  I  sold  one  lot  of  broom 
corn  to  a  home  manufacturer,  and  some  of  the  brush  was  two 
and  a  half  and  three  feet  long.  The  dwarf  broom  corn  makes 
a  better  brush,  for  it  is  finer.  There  are  quite  .a  number  of 
men  in  our  county  who  make  up  their  own  broom  com  or  hire 
it  done,  and  exchange  it  for  goods. 


JAMES  C.  MARSHALL,  . 

LA  CYGNE,   LINN   COUNTY. 
G-rain —  Cattle  —  Hogs  —  Stone  —  Osaye  Hedge  —  Sulky  Plows. 

I  believe  there  is  no  cheaper  way  of  manuring  land  than 
to  grow  the  fertilizers  on  'the  ground  where  they  are  .needed. 
In  order  to  do  this  I  raise  but  two  crops  in  three  years. 

Wheat  stubble,  with  the  growth  of  weeds,  should  be* 
turned^  under  deeply  in  the  Fall  or  Winter,  for  corn.  Corn' 
stalks,  with  the  early  growth  of  weeds,  should  also  be  plowed 
under,  from  the  middle  of  June  to  the  middle  of  July,  for- 
wheat. 

After  a  trial  of  from  ten  to  twelve  years,  I  find  my  land 
instead  of  growing  poor  by  cultivation,  gets  better.  The  same 
system  will  answer  for  any  crop.  Some  people  forget  Frank- 
lin's maxim,  "  always  taking  out  of  the  meal  chest  and  never 
pittting  in,  will,  sooner  or  later,  bring  us  to  the  bottom."  This. 
is  as  true  of  the  land  as  of  the  meal  chest. 

GRAIN. 

Corn  and  wheat  are  our  two  great  staples.  Flax  does  well 
here,  but  until  some  way  of  utilizing  the  straw  can  be  found,  it 
does  not  pay  as  well  as  other  crops.  One  of  our  great  wants 
is  a  paper  mill  to  use  the  flax  straw,  the  Indian  mallows. 


420 


LINN  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 


which  grow  without  being  desired,  the  refuse  of  our  sor- 
ghum mills,  and  whatever  else  is  found.  An  oil  mill  would  save 
<us  freight  on  the  growing  seed  and  the  returning  oils. 

*  I  am  trying  persimmons,  on  a  small  scale,  and  if  the  Japan 
persimmon  will  stand  our  climate,  it  will  be  an  acquisition. 

CATTLE. 

I  feed  fat  cattle  each  Winter,  and  it  is  more  remunerative 
•than  selling  the  corn.  The  self- feeding  cribs  are  coming  into 
use  and  save  a  deal  of  labor.  A  dozen  or  twenty  head  of  steers, 
with  good  shelter  for  them,  is  a  better  market  for  corn  than 
•Chicago  or  St.  Louis. 

The  Short-Horns  are  my  favorites.  They  can  turn  more 
wild  grass  into  beef  and  tallow  than  any  others  that  I  have 
tried ;  but  the  Jerseys  are  beginning  to  be  appreciated  in  cities 
and  towns,  as  giving  larger  quantities  of  cream  and  butter  in 
return  for  what  tljey  eat,  than  the  beef  breads. 

PLAN   OF   HOG   PEN. 
40  feer. 


lu  feet.          | 

10  feel.      |     ; 

1                        ~<i  i  i'fi  . 

it 

'        £ 

c 

B 

-                                                             WAGON    HOUSE. 

=                11                                                                                                             II 

CRIB.                                                                       £ 

HOGS. 

I  feed  few  hogs,  except  those  that  follow  the  cattle,  and 
iiave  good  dry  and  sheltered  places  for  their  sleeping  quarters. 


HOGS  — HEDGES  — PLOWS.  421 

Large  and  small  hogs  should  be  fed  separately,  and  they 
should  also  sleep  separately.  I  have  their  pens  cleaned  every 
day,  and  furnish  all  the  clean  water  they  can  drink.  I  do  not 
blame  some  hogs  for  dying  with  cholera. 

I  have  no  poor  breeds  of  hogs.  The  old  land  sharks  have 
left  us,  and  the  Berkshires  are  driving  out  all  other  breeds. 

A  pen  for  hogs  should  be  built  in  connection  with  the 
wagon  house  and  corn  crib.  The  advantages  are  that  you  can 
always  feed  in  a  dry  place,  there  is  a  place  for  barrels  for  swill, 
the  pens  can  be  cleaned  in  bad  weather,  the  pens  will  be  dry, 
and  the  hogs  will  have  plenty  of  air.  The  doors  out  of  the 
pens  should  open  into  different  lots.  If  necessary,  feed  can  be 
cooked  in  the  building  or  near  it.  It  is  but  little  trouble  to 
have  troughs  that  can  be  turned  over  from  feed  room.  A  par- 
tial floor  can  be  made  over  pens,  where  farming  tools  will  be 
better  off  than  out  in  the  weather.  The  floor  should  slant 
sufficiently  to  keep  it  dry. 

STONE. 

We  have  an  abundance  of  all  kinds  of  stone,  common 
limestone,  magnesian  limestone  and  sandstone  in  all  parts  of 
our  country.  Where  it  is  convenient,  it  is  the  best  and  cheap- 
est fence  a  man  can  make,  for  when  it  is  once  up  it  is  finished, 
while  the  hedge  fence  continually  requires  work. 

HEDGES. 

For  a  good  hedge  plant  I  want  something  that  does  not 
grow  as  tall  as  the  Osage  orange.  All  high  growing  plants 
will  drop  their  lower  limbs,  rendering  the  hedge  open  at  the 
bottom,  where  it  should  be  the  thickest. 

SULKY    PLOWS. 

I  use  a  sulky  plow.  It  is  excellent,  as  it  enables  me  to 
plow  deeper,  to  turn  under  more  rubbish,  and  utilizes  more 
horse  power  ;  so  that  when  my  day's  work  is  done  I  can  find 
time  for  work  in  the  garden. 

In  this  section  farmers  generally  are  more  alive  to  the 
benefits-  of  late  Fall  and  Winter  plowing  than  formerly.  A 


422  LYON  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

deep  interest  is  felt  in  sugar  making  from  sorghum.  A  few  ex- 
periments were  tried  last  year,  but  were  only  partially  success- 
ful. There  will  be  a  small  army  in  the  field  this  year,  but 
many  will  fail  for  want  of  proper  appliances. 


W.  J.  F.  HARDEN, 

HARTFORD,    LYON     COUNTY. 

Potatoes  —  G-rapes  —  Small    Fruits  —  Cherries  —  Apples  — 
Wheat  —  Corn  and  Millet  —  Barn  —  Stock. 

My  farm  consists  of  forty  acres.  I  have  a  road  on  my 
north  line,  a  road  from  the  house  to  the  barn,  and  one  from  the 
stock  yard  to  the  main  road.  The  roads  are  fifty  feet  wide.  I 
have  subdivided  my  farm  into  three  fields.  The  first,  of  ten 
acres,  contains  house,  barn,  garden,  vineyard,  and  orchard,  the 
house,  garden,  and  vineyard,  occupying  three-fourths  of  an 
acre. 

POTATOES. 

I  make  no  pretensions  at  selling  any  thing  from  the  gar- 
den. But  potatoes,  being  one  of  my  principal  crops,  I  raise  by 
themselves.  I  usually  plant  three  or  four  acres.  I  plant  in 
hills  three  feet  apart  each  way,  two  or  three  pieces  in  each 
hill,  or  eight  to  twelve  inches  apart  in  drills,  four  to  six  inches 
deep.  I  harrow  the  ground  thoroughly  both  waysr  before  the 
potatoes  come  up,  and  then  keep  them  clean.  I  frequently 
plow  after  the  potatoes  are  large  as  hens'  eggs. 

Average  price  of  early  Vermont  and  Rose,  seventy-five 
cents  per  bushel ;  Peachbiows,  ninety-two  cents.  Potatoes  can 
be  raised  at  a  profit  for  fifty  cents  per  bushel.  The  most  profit- 
able are  Early  Rose,  Peerless,  and  Peachblow,  the  latter  a 
favorite.  I  find  it  better  to  sell  at  digging  time,  as  the  shrink- 

oo       o 

age  is  fully  thirty-three  per  cent,  if  kept  until  late  planting  or 
the  June  market.  I  have  planted  as  many  as  nine  acres  in  one 
season,  and  have  raised  three  crops. 

I   plant   early  in  March    and   April   as   the   season   will 


VINEYARD  — CHERRIES.  423 

allow.  I  harrow  just  before  they  come  up,  and  cultivate  to 
keep  clean.  I  lay  by  with  cultivator,  and  dig  with  a  two-horse 
plow.  Strike  a  furrow  on  each  side  of  the  row,  and  then  throw 
out  the  potatoes  with  another  furrow.  By  skipping  a  few  rows 
and  working  two  lands  at  a  time,  all  hands  can  work  to  better 
advantage. 

VINEYARD. 

My  vineyard  is  on  bottom  land.  The  soil  is  a  light  clay 
loam.  I  have  my  vines  planted  eight  feet  apart  each  way,  and 
trained  to  a  trellis.  My  surplus  crop  in  1878,  from  sixty  bear- 
ing vines,  was  about  nine  hundred  pounds  ;  sold  at  six  cents  a 
pound.  My  varieties  are  Concord  and  Dracut  Amber.  The 
latter  I  sold  grapes  from  on  the  26th  of  June.  The  crop  of 
1879  was  injured  by  the  late  frost,  and  I  sold  less  than  one 
hundred  pounds.  I  have  let  my  vines  sucker  more  than  I 
ought  this  year,  perhaps,  but  I  want  to  start  them  out  in  better 
shape  by  encouraging  a  large  growth  of  wood. 

CHERRIES. 

I  have  fifty  trees  in  bearing,  the  early  May  or  Richmond 
and  the  common  Morello  being  my  favorites.  Of  the  crop  of 
1878,  I  sold  two  hundred  quarts,  at  eight  cents  a  quart.  The 
crop  of  1879  was  light.  My  trees  are  mostly  planted  twelve 
feet  apart ;  some  twenty-four  feet,  which  make  the  best  yield. 
Some  trees  near  the  house  have  yielded  over  one  bushel  each. 

BLACKBERRIES. 

I  have  the  Lawton  and  Kittatiny.  I  planted  them  out 
.and  allowed  them  to  run  wild.  They  are  too  crowded,  and  I 
shall  thin  them  out  and  set  in  rows  eight  feet  wide.  I  sold  in 
1878, 122  quarts,  at  eighteen  cents  a  quart.  In  1879  they  were 
Winter-killed  to  the  ground.* 

PEACHES. 

My  orchard  contains  two  hundred  trees,  which  have 
generally  brought  me  in  more  easy  money  than  any  thing  else. 
My  sales  for  1878  were  $103.50.  The  fruit  I  put  up  in  a  third 
of  a  bushel  crate,  and  hauled  fifteen  miles  to  market.  Yet 


424  LYON  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

strong  competition  sold  them  at  an  average  price  of  $1  per 
bushel.  The  varieties  are  Stump  the  World  and  Old  Nixon 
freestone.  The  peculiar  feature  of  this  growth  is,  that  it  was 
raised  from  budded  fruit  and  sold  as  seedling  fruit  on  its 
merits.  The  trees  were  planted  twelve  feet  apart  each  way. 
Sixteen  feet  would  be  a  better  distance. 

APPLES. 

My  orchard  consists  of  136  trees,  planted  twenty-eight 
feet  apart  each  way.  It  has  just  commenced  to  bear,  but  not 
sufficiently  to  market  the  fruit.  There  are  orchards  here, 
planted  twenty  years  ago,  twenty-four  feet  by  twenty-eight, 
whose  branches  touch  now.  I  let  my  hogs  run  in  the  orchard, 
and  am  feeding  them  there  at  this  time,  and  have  not  noticed 
any  damage  done  yet. 

HORSES    AND  COWS. 

I  keep  three  horses  to  do  the  work,  and  for  pleasure.  My 
wagon  bed  I  have  set  on  heavy  half  springs,  which  hold  up 
anything  I  want  to  haul.  I  keep  cows  enough  to  supply  me 
with  butter  and  milk,  and  have  some  surplus.  I  keep  geese 
and  chickens,  and  my  sales  of  poultry  at  times  is  considerable. 

FENCING. 

My  fences  consist  of  hedge  (Osage  orange)  set  eight  inches 
apart,  trimmed  several  years,  and  finally  splashed,  cut,  and 
laid  flat,  with  rails  piled  on  to  hold  down  until  grown 
together ;  then  trimmed  to  three  feet  wide,  and  kept  at  four 
and  one-half  feet  high.  This  is  pig-tight,  and  horse  and  bull 
strong.  I  have  a  board  fence  mude  with  from  four  to  six 
boards,  and  the  orchard  fences  are  of  four  and  six  inch  pine 
boards,  twelve  to  sixteen  feet  long,  with  short  posts,  made  from 
rails  cut  in  two  in  the  center.  These  answer  every  purpose,  and 
make  a  good  hog  fence. 

WHEAT. 

I  have  raised  three  crops  of  wheat.  Two  of  Spring,  aver- 
aging eleven  bushels  per  acre,  and  one  of  Winter,  averaging 
thirteen  bushels  per  acre.  I  sowed  once  and  the  grasshoppers 


CORN  AND  MILLET  — GOOD  WATER.  425 

walked  away  with  it.  I  always  raise  from  forty  to  sixty 
bushels  of  oats  per  acre  when  I  sow  them,  but  have  substituted 
millet  as  more  profitable.  I  confess  that  my  wheat  cost  one 
dollar  per  bushel  to  raise  it ;  and  last  year  thirteen  bushels  of 
peaches  brought  me  twenty  bushels  of  choice  wheat.  Oats 
were  only  worth  ten  to  twelve  and  a  half  cents  per  bushel,  and 
wheat  sixty-five  cents,  a  poor  return  surely  for  one's  labor. 

CORN  AND   MILLET. 

I  have  another  field  containing  twenty  acres,  sixteen  acres 
in  corn  and  four  acres  in  German  or  pearl  millet.  The  corn  is 
making  fifty  bushels  to  the  acre,  and  will  average  even  better 
than  that.  I  am  feeding  it  to  fifty  head  of  stock  hogs  of  my 
own  raising.  The  millet  I  had  cut  and  bound  with  a  harvester 
for  one  dollar  and  a  half  per  acre ;  it  yields  forty  bushels  of 
seed  per  acre.  I  stacked  it,  and  it  kept  nicely.  I  expect  to 
get  enough  for  the  straw  (having  abundance  of  other  feed)  to 
pay  for  threshing  it,  and  sell  the  seed. 

GOOD   WATER. 

Next  we  come  to  the  last  field  of  ten  acres,  two  acres  of 
which  is  water  and  timber ;  a  stream  from  two  to  four  rods 
wide,  and  one  to  five  feet  deep,  runs  through  it,  with  a  good 
wagon-road  crossing  at  the  most  convenient  point.  There  I 
raise  my  potatoes,  and  this  season  I  have  five  acres  of  corn 
there.  The  corn  I  cut  up  twelve  hills  square,  as  the  most 
convenient  size,  and  will  feed  to  stock  cattle  and  horses. 

HOG    SHED. 

A  shed  for  hogs  is  built  with  hay  roof,  by  putting  in  forks 
and  stout  poles  with  rails  and  brush  for  covering.  The  floor 
can  be  dispensed  with  by  filling  up  with  clay,  or  gravel  and 
earth.  Hogs  should  be  kept  dry  and  clean,  and  not  be 
crowded.  This  pen  can  be  enlarged  by  taking  out  partition ; 
doors  fasten  with  hook  and  staples. 

A   CONVENIENT    BARN. 

My  oarn  was  built  this  season,  with  stone  basement, 
fourteen  by  twenty,  laid  up  in  mortar,  and  eight  feet  high  to 


426  LYON  COUNTY,  KANSAS. 

sills.  I  did  the  work  myself  at  odd  times  during  the  Fall. 
The  superstructure,  the  center  post  of  which  is  twelve  feet 
high,  has  ample  room  for  the  storage  of  grain  and  hay.  The 
drive-way  is  nine  feet  wide ;  doors  are  eight  feet  square,  on 
roller  hinges  ;  the  crib  is  eight  feet  wide,  eight  feet  high,  and 
twenty  feet  long  ;  building  twenty  by  thirty-one  feet  in  all. 
Two  doors  are  in  the  basement  on  the  north  side,  two  and  one- 
half  by  1<Jiree  feet,  and  an  inside  drive-way  to  feed  through, 
with  a  window  same  size  in  each  end  for  light  and  air. 
Double  doors  for  same  purpose  in  front  are  three  and  one-half 
feet  wide.  The  basement  contains  room  for  four  stalls,  and  a 
pen  for  sows  and  young  pigs,  five  by  twelve  feet,  which  are 
a  great  convenience,  as  I  am  engaged  in  breeding  Berkshire 
swine,  and  raise  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  pigs  each  season. 


I.  C.  CURRIER, 

SALIX,   WOODBURY    COUNTY. 

The    Opening   of  a   Stock   Farm  —  Cost  of  Breaking  and  the 
First  Crop  —  How  to  Feed  Cattle  —  Profit  of  Sheep  —  Hogs. 

LAKEPORT   STOCK  FARM. 

My  farm  is  situated  one-half  mile  from  Salix,  and  fifteen 
miles  from  Sioiix  City,  on  the  main  road  to  the  latter  place.  I 
have  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land,  lying  on  the 
Missouri  bottom.  Farmers  who  have  been  here  twenty  years, 
say  that  they  can  raise  as  good  corn  as  ever,  and  the  land  has 
never  had  a  spoonful  of  manure.  Considerable  of  the  ground  is 
too  low  to  cultivate,  but  makes  good  mow-land,  and  an  excel- 
lent range  for  stock.  The  water  is  gogd  and  the  climate  healthy. 

The  banks  of  the  Missouri  are  covered  with  timber,  such 
as  cottonwood,  bass,  ash,  hackberry,  elm,  maple,  etc.  Cotton- 
wood  lumber  is  worth  ten  dollars-  per  thousand ;  cordwood  two 
dollars  a  cord  delivered.  There  is  a  good  market  here  for  our 
productions,  as  they  go  both  North  and  East. 

BUILDINGS. 

My  corn  barn  is  forty  feet  long  and  twenty-six  wide. 
There  are  two  bins,  eight  feet  wide,  one  on  each  side  of  the 
wagon-shed,  which  is  ten  feet  wide.  Over  the  wagon-shed 
there  is  a  floor  made  by  running  joists  from  one  bin  to  the 
other,  which  makes  a  large  place  to  store  farm  machinery,  and 
for  a  general  store-house.  I  have  windows  on  the  outside  to 
shovel  in  the  corn.  The  corn  barn  can  be  PO  constructed  that 
one  can  drive  through  the  center,  but  in  this  case  there  can  be 
no  room  over  the  wagon-shed. 

I  make  my  cattle  sheds  fourteen  feet  wide.  I  take  cedar 
posts  and  set  them  two  feet  in  the  ground  and  eight  feet  out 


428  WOODBURY  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

of  it.  I  set  a  post  every  fourteen  feet,  board  with  pine  boards 
(ship  lap),  and  shingle.  These  make  good  sheds  and  are  not 
very  expensive.  In  one  of  ray  sheds  I  have  a  place  to  tie  up 
eight  cows.  I  let  my  calves  do  the  milking,  excepting  what  I 
want  for  family  use. 

I  have  not  yet  built  my  horse  barn,  but  have  selected  its 
location.  Having  been  here  but  a  year  and  a  half,  I  have  not 
had  time  to  do  all  the  building  I  intend.  For  the  present,  I 
employ  a  building  forty-two  feet  long  by  twelve  feet  wide,  for 
horse  barn,  hog,  and  hen  house.  I  take  one-half  the  building 
for  horses,  having  two  double  and  two  single  stalls,  where  I 
can  keep  six  horses.  In  a  third  quarter  of  the  building,  I  have 
places  to  tie  up  five  colts,  and  in  the  fourth,  are  two  large  pens 
for  breeding  sows,  over  which  is  my  hen  house. 

For  a  farmer  who  has  not  veiy  much  money,  and  does  not 
keep  much  stock,  I  think  this  building  can  not  be  beat.  It  is 
made  the  same  as  the  cattle  sheds,  only  that  it  is  boarded  all 
around,  while  the  sheds  are  open  in  front.  When  my  horse 
barn  is  built,  I  shall  use  this  building  for  a  hog  house.  I  shall 
have  a  walk  through  on  one  side,  and  pens  for  breeding  sows. 
From  each  pen,  there  will  be  yards  outside. 

WATER. 

I  have  a  windmill  with  ten  foot  wheel,  which  pumps  the 
water  for  house  and  stock.  I  have  a  drive  well  and  a  force 
pump.  I  have  simply  to  turn  a  faucet  in  the  house,  and  if 
there  is  any  wind,  the  mill  pumps,  and  I  get  my  water  as 
conveniently  as  if  I  were  in  the  city.  In  the  center  of  the 
yards  I  have  a  round  tank  ;  and  in  my  hog  pasture  I  have  three 
barrels.  In  one  of  the  barrels  I  have  a  float,  and  it  is  so 
arranged  that  when  any  water  is  drank  out  of  the  other  two 
barrels,  they  will  fill  up  again  out  of  the  tank,  and  as  soon  as 
any  water  leaves  the  tank  (which  has  a  float)  the  mill  will 
begin  pumping1  and  fill  it  just  so  full,  then  by  means  of  the 
float  the  mill  is  put  out  of  gear. 

FARM   IMPLEMENTS. 

Arnong  farm  implements,  I  use  Avery's  sulky  plow,  the 


RESULT  OF  FIRST  CORN   CROP.  429 

Wilcox  harrow,  GorhanTs  sulky  cultivator,  the  Union  corn- 
planter,  with  drilling  attachment,  the  Buckeye  mower,  and 
Tiger  riding  horse-rake. 

FIRST  CORN  CROP. 

My  land  was  broken  in  the  Summer  of  1878  at  a  cost  of 
one  dollar  and  seventy-five  cents  per  acre.  In  the  Fall  and  the 
next  Spring,  I  turned  it  back,  which  was  worth  one  dollar  and 
fifty  cents  per  acre.  I  harrowed  the  ground  three  times  — 
twice  before  planting,  and  once  after  the  corn  was  up,  —  and 
cultivated  it  three  times.  The  harrowing,  planting  and  culti- 
vating would  be  worth  seventy-five  cents  an  acre,  and  the 
husking  two  cents  a  bushel.  Seventy-five  bushels  to  the  acre, 
husking  would  be  worth  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  per  acre, 
making  a  total  expense  for  production,  per  acre,  of  five  dollars 
and  fifty  cents,  or  seven  and  one-third  cents  per  bushel. 

RESULTS. 

I  paid  ten  dollars  an  acre  for  my  land,  and  have  eighty 
acres  in  corn.  This  eighty  acres  cost  eight  hundred  dollars. 
I  calculate  that  I  have  raised  seventy-five  bushels  an  acre  on 
an  average,  or  six  thousand  bushels  on  the  eighty  acres.  At 
twenty-five  cents  a  bushel  (the  market  price)  this  gives  fifteen 
hundred  dollars.  Deducting  four  hundred  and  forty  dollars, 
the  cost  of  production,  and  eight  hundred  dollars,  cost  of  my 
land,  I  find  a  remainder  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars, 
besides  the  corn  stalks,  which  are  worth  fifty  dollars  for  my 
stock. 

STOCK. 

I  convert  my  corn  into  beef  and  pork,  which  brings  me 
fifty  cents  a  bushel  for  my  corn.  This  is  a  stock  country,  and 
I  consider  the  Short-Horn  cattle  the  best.  My  cows  are  mostly 
grades,  and  I  have  some  full  bloods.  I  use  a  pedigree  Short- 
Horn  bull  with  all  my  cows. 

HOW   TO    FEED. 

I  believe  it  to  be  the  best  way  to  feed  steers  and  keep 
them  growing  from  the  time  they  are  dropped  till  they  are 


430  WASHINGTON   COUNTY,  IOWA. 

coming  two  years  old.  I  think  keeping  steers  until  they  are 
four  years  old,  and  then  feeding  them,  as  some  farmers  do,  will 
be  a  thing  of  the  past  in  a  few  years. 

HORSES. 

In  regard  to  horses,  I  consider  a  twelve  hundred  pound 
horse,  or  thereabout,  the  horse  for  general  fa'rm  work.  My 
mares  weigh  about  one  thousand  pounds  each,  and  I  put  them 
to  a  horse  weighing  fourteen  or  fifteen  hundred  pounds,  thereby 
obtaining  a  horse  that  will  do  either  farm  work  or  driving. 

SHEEP. 

T  consider  sheep  raising  the  most  profitable  business  a  man 
can  enter  into.  In  1879,  I  made  about  one  hundred  per  cent, 
on  mine,  with  graded  ewes  and  Cotswold  buck. 

HOGS. 

In  hogs,  I  have  had  the  greatest  success  by  crossing  Berk- 
shires  and  Poland  Chinas. 


E.  T.    BROCKWAY, 

• 

AINSWORTH,   WASHINGTON   COUNTY.  f 

Landscape     G-atdening  —  Hedges,     Evergreens  —  Stock    Hogs, 
and  Their  Management  —  Artichokes  —  Hay  Stacker. 

PINE   GROVE   FARM. 

I  do  not  claim  to  own  a  model  farm,  or  to  be  capable 
of  making  or  possibly  even  managing  one,  but  I  do  claim  that 
mine  is  the  best  I  could  make  by  thirteen  and  a  half  years 
toiling  with  hand  and  brain,  at  the  same  time  having  to  strive 
hard  to  keep  the  wolf  from  the  door,  pay  my  debts,  school  my 
children,  and  provide  my  family  "with  the  necessary  comforts 
of  life.  I  have  always  thought  that  if  there  is  a  place 
on  earth  where  a  man  should  see  real,  unalloyed  pleasure,  it  is 
at  his  own  fii'eside.  Here,  surrounded  by  wife  and  children, 


LOCATION  — LANDSCAPE  GARDENING.  431 

he  should  at  night  leave  the  cares  of  the  day  outside.  They 
are  easily  found  in  the  morning  again  and  are  made  less  hard 
to  bear  by  being  dismissed  for  the  night. 

LOCATION. 

In  choosing  a  location  for  a  home,  after  I  had  selected  one 
where  schools  and  society  were  attainable,  my  object  was 
to  secure  land  adapted  to  raising  hogs  and  cattle.  The  place  I 
found  that  best  answered  my  wants,  was  situated  in  the  great 
corn  belt  west  of  the  Mississippi  river,  in  Washington  Co.,  Iowa, 
near  the  thriving  little  town  of  Ainsworth.  Here  corn,  clover, 
timothy  and  blue  grass  grow  to  perfection,  and  by  reserving 
a  field  of  blue  grass  for  Winter  use,  I  find  that  stock  of  all 
kinds  can  make  a  good  living  in  the  fields  during  mild  Winter 
weather. 

Pine  Grove  Farm  consists  of  four  hundred  acres  and  is  one 
and  a  quarter  miles  long,  north  and  south,  and  a  half  mile  wide, 
with  a  road  on  the  west  and  north.  A  small  stream  runs  across 
the  south  end  near  the  line,  and  all  parts  of  the  farm  are  sup- 
plied with  living  water  by  under  drains.  In  selecting  a  point 
to  build,  I  chose  the  highest  location  on  the  farm,  with  a  view 
to  health,  and  also  to  avoid  the  danger  from  frosts  injuring 
fruit.  I  began  here  thirteen  years  ago.  I  had  made  one  farm 
before,  and  endeavored  to  profit  by  the  mistakes  which  I  then 
made.  I  selected  the  building  site  midway  on  the  west  side, 
with  the  front  of  the  house  facing  west.  I  allowed  about  two 
and  a  half  acres  for  lawn,  and  erected  the  house  about  fifteen 
rods  from  the  road.  I  sub-soiled  the  entire  lawn,  orchard  and 
garden  lot,  then  planted  the  lawn  to  such  rare  and  beautiful 
evergreens  and  deciduous  trees  "as  were  suited  to  the  climate. 
The  greater  portion  of  them  were  evergreens. 

LANDSCAPE   GARDENING. 

I  had  made  landscape  gardening  something  of  a  study,  and 
tried  to  profit  by  the  plans  and  teachings  of  A.  J.  Downing.  I 
planted  my  evergreens  sometimes  in  groups  and  sometimes 
singly,  giving  them  a  chance  to  display  their  beautiful  outlines ; 
my  aim  being  to  plant  so  that  there  would  be  an  opening 


432  WASHINGTON  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

among  the  trees  where  sunshine  would  linger  until  driven 
away  by  the  approaching  shades  of  night. 

THE  ORCHARD 

lies  north  of  the  house,  and  the  fruit  garden  lies  east.  Both 
are  protected  west,  north,  and  east,  by  a  triple  row  of  white 
pine  trees,  now  twenty  to  twenty-five  feet  high.  East  of  the 
pine  belt  there  is  an  Osage  hedge.  Still  east  of  the  hedge 
stands  a  grove  of  some  two  acres  of  maple,  which  are  thirty 
feet  high.  North  of  the  orchard  and  pine  belt  is  a  piece  of 
timber,  consisting  of  maple,  willow,  larch,  pine  of  various 
kinds,  and  spruce. 

TREES   AND   HEDGES. 

The  farm  is  fenced  principally  with  Osage  hedge.  I  have 
planted  larches  in  the  hedge  along  the  road  on  the  west  line, 
which  are  each  twenty  feet  high.  There  is  a  belt  of  maples  on 
the  inside  of  the  hedge  north  of  the  house,  extending  a  little 
over  a  mile,  one  along  the  north  side,  and  one  across  the  farm 
from  east  to  west,  near  the  middle,  making  in  all  some  20,000 
trees.  Three  thousand  of  these  are  evergreens  and  European 
larch.  The  remainder  of  my  trees  are  white  maple,  with  some 
poplar,  black  walnut,  butternut,  birch,  cottonwood,  elm,  ash, 
sycamore,  etc.  My  idea  of  planting  European  larch  in  the 
roadside  hedges,  was  to  create  a  pleasing  effect,  and  should  the 
hedge  die  out,  the  trees  would  answer  the  purpose  of  posts  to 
fasten  wire  to,  and  in  time  would  become  valuable  as  timber. 
I  do  not  think  they  will  materially  injure  the  hedge,  as  I  have 
seen  several  cases  where  large  maples  and  cottonwoods  have 
stood  in  hedges  without  doing  the  latter  any  apparent  injury. 
I  intend  at  some  future  time  to  plant  a  few  acres  of  European 
larch,  also  of  ash,  catalpa,  and  black  walnut,  believing  that 
they  will  prove  valuable  property.  Should  I  or  my  children 
not  reap  the  benefit,  some  other  man's  children  may.  When  I 
first  settled  on  the  land  the  only  trees  on  the  place  were  a  few 
scrubby  hickories  on  the  southeast  corner.  This  grove  is  near 
one  of  the  artificial  lakes  which  I  have  made.  I  have  carefully 


PINES  —  EVERGREENS.  433 

protected  the  young  hickories,  and  trimmed  them.     This  will 
soon  be  a  beautiful  and  valuable  grove. 

THE   PINES. 

Though  we  have  been  here  but  a  short  time,  the  pines 
tower  above  the  house,  though  the  dwelling  is  quite  a  tall 
building.  The  fierce  winds  are  effectually  held  at  bay  through 
their  agency.  In  the  long  Summer  these  pines  scent  the  air 
with  their  balsamic  odor,  throwing  their  long,  dark  shadows 
on  the  dewy  grass  at  night.  But  in  the  Winter  their  real  value 
is  seen  most  plainly.  When  the  fierce  winds  howl  through 
the  darkness  like  angry  wolves,  the  dark  pines  and  cedars  seem 
to  say,  "  Halt !  ye  winds."  Then  when  the  cold,  wintry  days 
some,  the  north  winds  roar  among  the  naked  maple  limbs  and 
bend  them  like  grass,  but  the  sturdy  pines  stand  like  a  pro- 
tecting wall,  while  the  cattle  in  the  lee  of  them  are  the  picture 
of  content  and  comfort.  And  gently  the  beautiful  snow  comes 
down  and  the  master  and  his  stock  sleep  in  peace,  while  the 
good  sentinels  of  pine  and  cedar,  fir  and  spruce,  stand  guard. 

EVERGREENS. 

I  buy  my  evergreens  by  the  thousand  of  some  nurseryman, 
usually  at  a  cost  of  about  $10  per  thousand,  when  a  foot  high. 
They  reach  me  moist  and  in  good  order.  I  keep  the  roots  wet 
until  I  am  ready  to  set  them  out  in  nursery  rows,  where  I  culti- 
vate them  four  years,  and  then  plant  where  I  wish  them  to  re- 
main. I  lose  no  greater  proportion  of  them  than  I  would  of 
cottonwood  or  maple,  by  transplanting.  All  I  find  necessary 
to  success  is  to  keep  the  roots  from  becoming  the  least  dry  for 
even  a  moment. 

Were  I  to  make  a  thousand  farms  I  would  plant  at  least  a 
thousand  evergreens  on  each  farm,  and  should  I  wish  to  sell 
any  one  of  the  farms  ten  years  later,  I  would  receive  ten  dol- 
lars for  every  one  dollar  which  I  had  spent  for  evergreens. 
Were  any  one  to  ask  me  what  kind  I  prefer,  I  would  answer 
that  I  like  them  all,  but  the  white  pine  I  consider  best. 

LAKES. 

I   make  little  lakes  on  my  farm  by  building  dams  across 
28 


434  WASHINGTON  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

the  sloughs  or  ravines.  These  lakes  cover  from  half  an  acre  to 
two  acres,  and  some  of  the  deepest  soon  become  stocked  with 
native  fish.  Such  lakes  are  a  great  source  of  comfort  to  the 
stock  in  hot  weather,  and  furnish  them  with  good  water  for 
drink.  As  a  water  supply  for  stock,  however,  I  depend  mostly 
on  a  deep  well  and  windmiU  for  Winter,  with  a  good  tank  and 
return  pipe,  and  allow  the  mill  to  run  most  of  the  time.  The 
stock  are  thus  supplied  with  water  as  warm  as  Spring 
water. 

BLOODED    STOCK. 

I  have  a  passion  for  blooded  stock  of  all  kinds,  and  usually 
raise  enough  to  eat  all  the  hay,  grass  and  grain  that  I  can  raise 
on  the  farm.  At  the  present  time  I  have  sixty-four  head  of 
Short-Horn  and  high  grade  cattle.  Among  them  is  the  noted 
old  bull  Consul,  13,711,  bred  by  J.  O.  Sheldon,  Geneva,  New 
York  (former  owner  of  the  famous  N.  Y.  Mills  herd).  This 
bull  stood  for  several  years  at  the  head  of  the  herd  of  Short- 
Horns  owned  by  the  Java  Agricultural  College.  My  principal 
object  is  to  raise  cattle  for  beef,  and  not  to  sell  fine  stock, 
though  I  sell  a  few  calves  each  year.  My  intention  now  is  to 
increase  my  herd  to  about  eighty.  I  can  then  turn  off  a  car 
load  each  year  of  first  class  cattle  for  beef.  To  me  this  would 
be  more  satisfaction  than  to  buy  my  fattening  stock,  though 
perhaps  such  a  plan  requires  more  skill  and  care. 

HORSES. 

So  far  I  have  found  less  profit  in  horses,  though  I  have 
given  them  much  attention,  and  have  some  very  good  ones  on 
the  farm.  Of  the  draught  stock  I  have  colts  from  such  sires 
as  the  imported  Percheron,  "  Diligence,"  and  the  noted  prize 
winner  Norman,  "  Dieppie,"  both*  imported  from  France  by 
Dillon,  of  Illinois.  I  also  have  colts  from  that  most  noted  of 
Scotch  Clydes,  "  Donald  Dinnie,"  now  owned  by  Robert  Hol- 
loway,  of  Monmouth,  111.  The  original  stock  of  these  colts 
on  the  dam's  side  was  a  pair  of  English  draught  mares  weigh- 
ing eighteen  hundred  pounds  each,  and  having  good  style  and 


EXPERIMENTS  IN  HOG  RAISING.  435 

action.  I  have  always  bred  with  special  reference  to  action 
and  style,  as  well  as  size.  My  colts  are  most  of  them  too 
young  to  estimate  their  real  value.  We  shall  see  what  we 
shall  see.  I  also  have  a  few  colts  designed  for  the  carriage 
and  the  saddle,  which  are  of  the  Bashaw  Hazard  and  Stonewall 
Jackson  strains. 

HOGS. 

The  breeding  of  swine  has  been  with  me  for  some  years  a 
specialty.  My  stock  in  this  line  is  pure-bred  Magics  or  Poland 
Chinas.  For  several  years  I  have  purchased  sows  and  boars  in 
Butler  county,  Ohio,  and  I  have  studied  closely  the  nature  and 
habits  of  hogs.  If  I  have  any  hobby  now,  it  is  swine  breeding 
and  like  most  hobbies,  it  don't  pay  any  too  well.  But  I  believe 
it  will  pay  some  time  and  shall  continue  to  breed  carefully,  and 
also  shall  hold  on  and  wait  for  something  to  turn  up. 
Have  not  made  much  money.  I  have  always  kept  my  hogs 
healthy,  and  though  many  of  my  neighbors  have  lost  their 
entire  herds,  mine  answer  to  roll  call  with  great  regularity  and 
show  no  signs  of  feverish  pulse  or  wasting  cough. 

I  first  tried  Chester  Whites.  Some  years  ago  the  cholera 
held  off  until  I  had  something  over  a  hundred  head  of  this 
breed ;  then  it  just  made  one  job  of  it.  I  next  tried  the  Berk- 
shires.  They  were  pretty,  very  active,  and  apparently  ironclad, 
but  I  must  have  obtained  the  small  kind,  as  mine  would  never 
grow  big.  A  friend  then  induced  me  to  try  the  Poland  Chinas. 
I  was  so  pleased  with  my  success  with  them  that  I  concluded 
to  send  to  Ohio,  to  D.  M.  Magie  for  a  pair.  And  each  year  I 
have  sent  to  headquarters  for  fresh  blood  at  fancy  prices.  Still 
the  price  of  pork  went  down,  even  below  the  cost  of  production, 
and  I  began  to  look  around  for  the  means  of  making  pork 
easier  to  raise.  I  housed,  herded,  slopped,  ground  feed,  fed  it 
cooked  and  raw,  and  still  the  price  ran  down.  I  still  held  on 
for  "  something  to  turn  up."  Nothing  did,  except  the  cholera 
among  my  neighbors' hogs.  I  became  nervous  over  it.  Every 
time  a  pig  would  cough  I  feared  cholera.  The  next  affliction 
was  the  hog  doctor.  He  and  his  remedies  proved  almost  as 


436  WASHINGTON   COUNTY,  IOWA. 

•  disastrous  as  the  cholera,  and  both  had  to  be  charged  to  the 
cost  of  production. 

ARTICHOKES. 

One  of  my  neighbors  had  raised  Red  Brazilian  artichokes 
tor  several  years.  I  had  watched  him  closely,  and  agreed  with 
him  that  they  were  a  success,  and  that  I  had  lost  time  by  not 
raising  them  sooner  for  feed  instead  of  feeding  so  much  corn. 
.  So  I  planted  seven  acres  to  begin  with.  I  liked  them  because 
my  hogs  did,  and  next  year  I  increased  my  fields  to  twenty 
acres,  which  gives  me  all  I  can  use.  Last  year  I  planted  a  kind 
that  is  new  here,  called  the  White  French  artichoke.  I  think 
them  an  improvement  over  the  Red  Brazilian,  as  they  grow 
deepest  and  are  sweeter.  So  far  from  the  artichoke  being  a 
nuisance,  as  some  declare  it  is,  I  find  them  easy  to  eradicate  by 
plowing  under  about  July  first.  At  that  time  there  are  no 
tubers  in  the  ground  to  start  from.  This  plowing  effectually 
kills  them.  The  heaviest  corn  I  have  seen  this  year  grew 
where  a  crop  of  artichokes  grew  last  year.  I  do  not  ring  or 
cut  my  hogs'  noses,  but  turn  them  on  the  artichokes  about  the 
middle  of  September  or  first  of  October.  I  give  the  fattening 
hogs  about  half  the  corn  they  will  eat  while  on  them.  The 
stock  hogs  I  feed  corn  in  the  evening.  They  will  dig  the 
artichokes  eagerly,  even  when  the  ground  is  frozen  an  inch 
or  two  on  top.  As  soon  as  it  thaws  again  in  the  Spring,  they 
will  begin  on  the  same  spot  again.  I  let  them  have  the  run  of 
the  fields  until  June  first.  During  -the  month  of  May  the 
ground  becomes  filled  with  long  white  sprouts,  about  the  size 
of  pipe  stems.  They  are  crisp  and  brittle  like  celery,  of  which 
the  hogs  are  also  very  fond.  June  first  I  turn  them  on  clover. 
By  that  time  they  have  had  rooting  enough,  and  will  not  trouble 
the  clover  fields. 

HOW  TO  KEEP   HOGS  HEALTHY. 

Next  year  I  shall  plant  part  of  a  field  to  mammoth  sweet 
•corn,  the  remainder  in  Yankee  corn,  called  by  some  King  Phillip. 
I  shall  turn  the  ho^s  on  that  field  about  the  middle  of  August. 


HOW  TO  KEEP  HOGS  HEALTHY.  437 

You  now  have  my  plan  of  making  cheap  pork.  I  believe  that 
with  the  use  of  artichokes  in  Fall  and  Spring  and  feeding  lib- 
erally with  mangel  wurtzel  beets  in  Winter,  when  it  is  warm 
enough  to  get  them  out  of  the  pits,  a  little  flax  seed  or  oil  meal 
in  the  slops,  a  free  use  of  bran  and  shorts  in  Winter,  a  free  use 
of  soot  and  ashes,  cleanliness  in  breeding  and  feeding  quarters, 
hogs  can  be  raised  cheap  enough  to  pay,  even  at  very  low 
prices,  and  with  this  care  you  can  almost  defy  the  cholera. 
The  hog  doctor  rolls  up  his  eye  that  is  not  blind  and  says  in  a 
confidential  and  wise  tone,  "  My  dear  sir,  just  so  long  as  you 
follow  your  present  course  you  will  have  very  little  need  of  my 
services."  I  have  found  it  paid  me  to  put  up  a  few  loads  of 
after-growth  clover,  cured  carefully,  to  feed  to  them  occasion- 
ally in  Winter.  In  my  estimation  diseased  conditions  in  the 
hog  are  of  slow  growth,  and  are  caused  many  times  by  want  of 
change  in  their  diet ;  generally  by  long  continued  feeding  of 
corn ;  much  in  the  same  way  that  scurvy  attacks  the  Northern 
voyagers. 

I  have  not  the  least  doubt  that  herds  are  often  diseased 
by  the  practice  adopted  by  dealers  of  hauling  hogs  that  have 
died,  along  our  highways,  and  from  farm  to  farm.  This  prac- 
tice should  be  stopped  by  law.  I  should  certainly  prosecute  a 
man  that  would  do  this  for  trespassing  on  my  premises,  if  there 
was  any  law  to  reach  him.  I  allow  no  other  hogs  on  my 
premises,  and  buy  none,  except  a  few  for  breeding  purposes. 
Those  I  keep  in  quarantine  until  I  know  they  are  all  right.  A 
respectable  breed  of  hogs,  raised  in  the  manner  indicated  above 
will  not  eat  their  pigs  or  act  as  though  possessed  of  an  evil 
spirit. 

A  healthy  herd,  and  one  that  is  profitable  to  the  owner, 
can  only  be  secured  and  kept  in  paying  condition  by  his 
constant  care.  I  say  owner  because  I  have  never  known 
many  men  to  become  rich  except  by  minding  their  own 
business. 

Cheap  arrangement  for  stacking  hay  in  the  field.  Any 
farmer  can  make  it  in  a  day.  It  is  in  general  use  here  by  our  best 
farmers : 


438 


ORCHARDS  —  MANURES. 
BENJAMIN   LEVAN, 

GT7THBIE    CENTER,   GUTHRIE  COUNTY. 

Orchards  —  Manures — Black  Walnut  and  Cottonwood  Fence  — 
Small  Grain —  Corn  —  Herefords  —  Raising  Calves  —  Hogs. 

The  first  sod  on  my  farm  was  turned  in  the  Summer  of 
1859,  twenty  years  ago.  The  same  season  I  put  up  a  sub- 
stantial brick  building.  In  the  Summer  following  I  broke  the 
remainder  of  the  farm,  making  in  all  about  seventy-five  acres 
of  tillable  farming  land.  I  also,  among  other  improvements, 
set  out  about  two  hundred  apple  trees,  and  a  wind-break  on  the 
west  and  north  of  the  house  and  orchard,  consisting  of  cotton- 
woods,  soft  maple,  black  walnut  and  locust. 

ORCHARDS. 

My  apple  trees  did  not  do  as  well  as  they  should  or  would 
have  done,  had  I  not  planted  them  so  close.  Trees  of  that 
kind  want  plenty  of  room  and  should  be  at  least  two  rods 
apart.  The  greatest  enemies  to  fruit  raising  I  find  are  the  borer 
and  blight,  or  mildew.  For  the  former  I  have  found  a  success- 
ful remedy  in  whitewashing  the  bodies  of  the  trees  early  in  the 
Spring,  first  adding  half  a  pound  of  copperas  to  a  patent  pail- 
ful of  the  wash,  just  before  using  it.  Also  put  around  the  foot 
of  the  trees  leached  ashes.  For  the  mildew,  I  know  no  better 
preventive  than  the  selection  of  such  varieties  of  fruit  as  are 
not  subject  to  its  ravages. 

MANURES. 

I  keep  up  my  farm  by  continually  adding  to  its  fertility 
by  home  made  manures.  I  always  haul  out  all  the  manure 
right  after  harvest.  I  scatter  it  from  the  wagon  and  plow  it 
under  as  soon  as  possible,  with  the  very  best  of  results.  It 
makes  big  corn  next  year. 


440  GUTHRIE  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

BLACK    "WALNUTS. 

I  also  planted  some  black  walnuts  along  the  fence,  plant- 
ing the  walnuts  instead  of  the  trees,  which  were  very  hard 'to 
get  and  still  harder  to  persuade  to  grow.  I  planted  about 
four  feet  apart,  for  protection  and  ornament.  I  planted  about 
one  hundred  rods  of  these  trees  in  the  Spring  of  1860.  I  cul- 
tivated them  as  I  would  corn  for  two  years,  since  which  they 
have  taken  care  of  themselves,  answering  not  only  the  purpose 
for  which  they  were  intended,  but  the  treble  purpose  of  living 
fence  posts,  which  they  made  long  before  the  first  posts  were 
rotten.  In  the  Fall  of  1868  I  tacked  five  common  fence  wires 
on  the  trees  with  staples,  fastening  them  on  tight.  In  a  few 
years  the  wire  where  tacked  on,  became  imbedded  in  the  trees 
and  is  so  imbedded  yet,  making  a  perfect  live  post  wire  fence. 
It  is  the  best  fence  I  have  on  the  farm  to-day,  costing  nominally 
nothing  for  repairs,  while  the  trees  have  been  bearing  nuts 
annually,  with  a  few  exceptions,  since  they  were  six  years  old. 
The  season  just  past  they  bore  about  two  hundred  and  fifty 
bushels  of  walnuts,  which  at  a  low  estimate  would  be  worth 
fifty  dollars.  They  are  worth  more  than  so  much  corn  for 
feeding  to  hogs,  who  delight  to  eat  them. 

COTTONWOODS. 

I  set  out  at  the  same  time  one  hundred  and  sixty  rods  of 
cottonwood  slips,  which  soon  made  a  wonderful  growth,  and  in 
due  season  tacked  on  five  smooth  wires  which  is  a  good  fence 
now.  Some  trees  that  have  come  up  on  the  farm  since  will 
make  fifty  rails  and  one  cord  of  wood. 

SMALL    GRAIN. 

I  find  that  it  is  unprofitable  to  raise  small  grain  on  account 
of  its  uncertain  market.  It  has  not  paid  well  with  me.  I  sow 
wheat  and  oats  more  for  the  purpose  of  feeding  the  straw  to 
stock,  and  thereby  converting  it  into  manure,  than  from  the 
prospect  of  an  immediate  return  in  the  sale  of  the  grain.  I 
raised  a  good  quality  of  wheat  on  land  that  has  been  under 
constant  cultivation  for  twenty  years,  without  any  fertilizers, 


CORN  —  CALVES.  441 

but  in  quantity  it  failed  me.     I  generally  sow  wheat  and  oats 
on  corn  stalk  land. 

CORN. 

I  have  found  that  corn  is  the  only  grain  that  pays  me  for 
raising  it.  One  feature  about  corn  is  that  its  cultivation  does 
not  impoverish  the  soil,  as  small  grain  does.  I  have  raised  corn 
for  three  or  four  consecutive  years  on  the  same  ground,  and  the 
last  crop  has  been  better  than  the  first,  both  in  quality  and 
quantity.  It  pays  best  to  feed  corn  to  hogs  and  cattle.  Corn 
has  never  failed  me  as  a  feed  for  stock  of  all  kinds  and  under 
all  circumstances. 

I  generally  plow  all  stubble  land  as  soon  after  harvest  as 
I  can,  which  generally  kills  all  weeds  and  makes  the  very 
best  corn  land.  I  always  harrow  my  corn  ground  well  before 
laying  it  off.  After  planting  I  harrow  again,  and  when  the  corn 
commences  to  come  up  I  give  it  another  and  last  harrowing, 
which  kills  about  all  the  weeds  that  are  then  up.  After  the 
corn  gets  up  so  that  I  can  see  the  rows,  I  hitch  to  my  double- 
shovel  plow,  and  keep  myself  busy,  say  on  fifty  acres  of  corn, 
until  too  high  for  plowing.  If  the  season  is  good  the  result 
will  be  a  good  crop  of  corn. 

HEREFOKDS. 

I  raise  Hereford  cattle,  and  have  had  them  for  years.  I  like 
them  well.  They  are  gentle,  mature  early,  and  are  fair  milkers 
and  good  butter  makers,  and  easily  kept  on  little  feed. 

CALVES. 

I  raise  the  calves  by  hand,  allowing  the  calf  to  stay  with 
the  cow  only  till  the  ninth  milking,  when  I  take  it  to  some 
secluded  place,  where  the  mother  does  not  see  it.  I  then  milk 
the  cow,  and  give  the  calf  one  gallon  of  the  fresh  milk  twice 
a  day  till  the  fourteenth  day.  I  then  commence  giving  skimmed 
milk,  taken  from  the  previous  milking,  (say  if  in  the  evening, 
the  morning  milk,)  first  having  made  it  tepid  warm,  and  give 
the  calf  about  five  quarts  of  this  milk  to  a  meal,  twice  per  day, 
giving  older  and  a  larger  quantity  of  milk  for  twelve  weeks 


442  GUTHRIE  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

after.  I  give  calves  after  that  all  the  sour  milk  they  will  drink, 
once  a  day,  and  once  a  day  all  the  water  they  want.  If  in  the 
Fall  or  Winter,  I  give  them  all  the  oat  hay  they  will  eat.  If 
in  the  Summer,  I  fence  off  a  pasture  for  them,  either  of  timothy 
or  oats  sown  in  the  Spring.  Under  this  system  I  raise  calves 
that  are  the  admiration  of  all  who  see  them. 

The  advantages  in  favor  of  raising  thus,  are  numerous, 
but  I  shall  mention  only  a  few.  In  the  first  place  you  have 
the  full  benefit  of  the  cow  for  butter  making  purposes ;  sec- 
ondly, the  calf  becomes  fully  domesticated  and  of  a  gentle 
nature,  generally  making  a  gentle  cow  ;  last,  but  not  least,  a 
calf  weaned  at  the  ninth  milking  will  not  experience  the 
hindrances  to  its  growth  that  all  calves  get  that  are  weaned 
at  a  later  day. 

HOGS. 

I  prefer  the  Berkshire  hogs.  They  give  the  best  satisfac- 
tion since  I  have  introduced  them  on  my  farm.  They  are  sure 
breeders  and  the  sows  are  good  sucklers.  The  pigs  make  quick 
returns  by  maturing  early.  In  fact,  with  fair  treatment  they 
are  ready  for  the  market  at  almost  any  time.  Hogs,  as  a  gen- 
eral thing,  do  well  with  me.  Hog  cholera  sometimes  shows 
itself,  but  I  dread  it  little.  I  never  had  it  but  once  among  my 
hogs.  In  my  case  and  many  others,  I  think  it  was  brought  on 
by  over-feeding  new  corn,  the  hogs  actually  gorging  themselves 
therewith.  Since  then,  if  I  feed  green  corn  at  all,  I  feed  it 
cautiously.  I  prefer  feeding  good,  bright  old  corn  until  the 
new  becomes  old  enough  to  husk.  My  theory  is,  that  any 
grain  fed  before  its  maturity  is  more  or  less  injurious,  and  if 
indulged  in  too  freely  will  result  disastrously. 


THE  SOIL— BARBED  WIRE.  443 

A.  FAILER, 

KELLOGG,   JASPER   COUNTY. 

Short-Horns  —  Breed  Nothing  but  the  Best  Stock —  The  Manage- 
ment of  Hogs  —  Breeding — Weaning — Pens  and  Feeding 
Cribs  —  Artichokes. 

ELMWOOD   FARM. 

My  farm  is  situated  in  the  southeast  portion  of  Kellogg 
Township,  and  consists  of  one  hundred  acres  of  land.  In  its 
primitive  state,  a  considerable  portion  of  the  farm  was  covered 
with  hazel,  young  timber,  and  a  grove  called  Wolf  Grove. 
The  remainder  was  prairie.  My  farmhouse  stands  on  beauti- 
ful rising  ground,  in  the  south  edge  of  this  natural  grove  of 
elms,  linns,  oaks,  box  elders,  wild  plums,  crab  and  thorn-apples, 
the  whole  covered  with  a  heavy  sward  of  blue  grass. 

THE    CREEK. 

At  the  foot  of  the  hill  runs  the  clear  and  sparkling  little 
Elk  creek,  which  is  fed  by  living  springs,  furnishing  water  the 
entire  year  for  all  stock  on  the  farm.  Here  are  the  famous  Elk 
creek  camping  grounds,  known  by  the  early  gold  seekers  en 
route  to  California,  which  tradition  says  was  once  the  corn  field 
of  the  Musquaka  Indians. 

THE    SOIL. 

As  to  the  fertility  of  the  farm,  it  is  not  excelled  by  any, 
as  much  of  it,  in  its  native  state,  was  what  is  called  hazel- 
rough.  My  farm  is  all  under  cultivation,  and  is  used  as  pas- 
ture, meadow,  and  farm  lands. 

BARBED  WIRE  FOR  FENCES. 

I  have  it  fenced  mainly  by  barbed  wire,  which  I  prefer  for 
cattle  and  horses.  All  my  fields,  lots,  or  yards,  in  which  hogs 


444 


JASPER   COUNTY,  IOWA. 


are  kept,  are  fenced  with  three  boards  below  and  two  wires 
above. 

SHORT-HORNS. 

For  the  last  five  years  I  have  conducted  my  farm  mainly 
in  the  interest  of  stock  raising.  On  it  now  may  be  seen  a 
small  but  choice  herd  of  Short-Horn  cattle,  bred  entirely  for 
stock  purposes.  The  bulls  I  sell  at  about  one  year  old,  and 
they  average  one  hundred  dollars  each.  My  choicest  heifers  I 
retain  for  breeders,  which  bring  as  good  prices  in  proportion  as 
do  the  bulls.  When  will  the  farmer  learn  that  it  will  not  pay 
to  raise  common  cattle?  It  costs  very  little  more  to  raise  good 
blooded  stock  that  readily  sell  for  prices  named. 

FEEDING  CRIB. 


Feeding  Crib 


The  above  cut  represents  my  plan  for  an  outdoor  feeding 
crib,  or  rack,  for  feeding  hay,  straw,  or  corn  to  cattle.  I  take 
eight  posts  eight  feet  and  a  half  long  and  put  them  in  the 
ground  two  feet,  in  two  rows  fourteen  feet  long  and  four  feet 
apart.  Two  and  a"  half  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  ground, 
I  spike  to  the  end  posts  studding  two  by  four,  six  feet  long,  so 
that  they  project  one  foot  outside  the  posts.  Then  I  spike  the 
others  in  a  line.  Now  lay  a  tight  floor  on  this,  using  lumber 
sixteen  feet  long  (two  inch  plank  is  best).  This  floor  projects 
one  foot  outside  of  the  posts  all  around.  On  the  outside  edge, 
on  top  of  the  floor,  fasten  a  studding  two  by  four,  lying  on 
edge.  This  is  for  hay  or  straAV.  But,  if  the  crib  is  designed 
for  feeding  corn,  the  floor  should  extend  twenty  to  twenty- four 
inches  outside  of  posts,  and  should  have  two  by  six  inch  joists 


IMPROVING  STOCK  — HOGS.  445 

around  the  outside  edge.  Now  finish  up  by  nailing  on  the 
posts  corn  crib  boards,  or  common  fencing.  If  intended  for 
hay  or  straw,  nail  the  lower  board  eight  inches  from  the  floor ; 
if  for  corn,  six  inches  above.  The  crib  can  be  made  any 
desired  length  for  the  accommodation  of  the  stock  to  be 
cared  for. 

IMPROVING   STOCK. 

If  farmers  can  not  at  once  change  their  stock  by  selling 
the  common  and  buying  thorough-breds,  they  should  at  least 
breed  from  none  but  the  pure  blood  males.  The  day  is  gone 
by  for  making  money  from  common  cattle,  in  Iowa.  The  mar- 
kets of  the  world  demand  better  beef  than  they  produce  ;  the 
best  selling  fat  steer,  and  the  one  that  pays  the  best  to  the 
breeder,  is  the  two-year  old  grade  or  fall-blood,  that  weighs 
fourteen  hundred  to  sixteen  hundred  pounds.  These  always 
fetch  the  top  of  the  market. 

HOGS. 

In  connection  with  the  herd  of  thorough-bred  cattle,  I 
breed  fine  swine,  such  as  Poland  Chinas,  Berkshires,  and  at 
this  time  a  few  Durocks,  or  Jersey.  These  I  sell  mainly  for 
breeding  purposes.  All  animals  not  sold  as  such  are  fed  for 
fat  market.  I  sell  usually  from  forty  to  sixty  annually,  that 
are  bred  expressly  for  the  market,  and  find  from  an  experience 
of  over  ten  years  that  the  most  profitable  is  a  cross  of  a  Berk- 
shire on  the  Poland  China  sow. 

I  have  been  in  the  business  of  hog  raising  for  twentv-five 

o  o  »/ 

years  in  Iowa.  I  have  never  lost  a  hog  by  what  is  called 
uhog  cholera."  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  hogs  that  are 
properly  or  sensibly  bred  and  kept,  are  rarely  attacked  with 
disease.  It  can  not  be  expected,  according  to  common  sense, 
or  in  the  nature  of  things,  that  a  sow  at  or  about  one  year  old, 
undeveloped  as  she  is  at  that  age,  could  possibly  have  as 
strong  and  healthy  pigs,  or  be  as  profitable  a  breeder  as  one 
which  has  had  one  litter. 

YOUNG     SOWS 

should  be  first  bred  mainlv  to  test  them  as  breeders.     When 


446  JASPER  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

proven  to  be  good,  they  should  then  be  placed  in  the  breeding 
class.  I  believe  in  breeding  at  two  years  old,  or  older,  and 
keeping  them  as  long  as  they  breed  and  do  well.  The  sows 
will  thus  average  at  least  two  more  pigs  to  the  litter,  and  the 
pigs  weigh,  when  ready  for  market,  from  sixty  to  eighty  pounds 
more.  I  sell  them  when  they  are  from  twelve  to  fourteen 
months  old.  They  weigh  then  from  three  hundred  and  fifty  to 
four  hundred  pounds  each.  It  may  be  interesting  and  profita- 
ble to  give  my  manner  of  treatment,  and  my  general  manage- 
ment. 

THE  MANAGEMENT  OF  BREEDING  STOCK. 

Breeding  stock  should  never  be  allowed  to  become  fat, 
and  it  is  important  that  this  has  been  the  condition  of 
their  ancestr}r  for  generations  back.  "When  such  is  the  case,  it 
is  a  guarantee  of  soundness  and  good  health,  freedom  from 
scrofulous  taints,  or  weakness  in  any  part.  I  also  keep  breed- 
ing stock  as  long  as  possible  on  pasture,  where  they  can  have 
access  daily  to  running  water,  so  that  in  warm  weather  they 
are  able  to  take  their  cooling  bath. 

Corn  should  be  fed  only  sufficient  to  keep  them  in  a  good, 
healthy,  strong,  active  condition.  They  should  also  have  free- 
dom to  use  their  noses.  They  were  made  with  a  deep-seated 
inclination  to  use  them.  Breeding  stock  must  not  be  tortured 
with  rings  in  their  noses,  but  should  have,  during  the  Fall  and 
Spring,  free  access  to  artichokes.  These  expand  the  stomach 
and  give  feeding  capacity.  They  also  cool  and  purify  the  blood. 
Indulge  them  in  the  desire  to  root.  They  would  not  thank  a 
man  to  do  their  rooting  for  them,  but  prefer  to  do  it  themselves. 
It  is  indeed,  "  Root,  hog,  or  die  !" 

If  breeding  stock  have  been  for  generations  treated  in  this 
way,  with  proper  sleeping  arrangements  during  Winter,  so  that 
they  have  not  taken  cold  and  become  consumptive,  they  have 
the  best  possible  conditions  for  the  raising  of  healthly  and 
profitable  pigs.  So  much  for  the  breeders. 

EARLY   PIGS. 

I  never  want  my  pigs  to  come,  here  in  central  Iowa,  earlier 


FEEDING  YOUNG  PIGS.  447 

than  the  1st  to  the  10th  of  May.  I  keep  a  record  of  the  time 
I  expect  each  sow  to  come  in,  and  ten  days  prior  to  that  time 
separate  her  from  all  others,  putting  her  in  a  dry,  warm  place, 
so  constructed  as  to  protect  her  from  rains  and  storms,  yet  with 
plenty  of  light  and  air.  I  study  the  nature  of  the  animal,  and 
take  advantage  of  her  peculiarities,  as  the  bee-keeper  does  his 
bees.  I  find  no  trouble  in  getting  a  sow  into  her  pen,  or  place 
prepared  for  her  delivery.  She  is  more  like  ourselves  than  we 
are  willing  to  acknowledge,  and  is  far  easier  led  than  driven. 
Educate  your  sows  so  that  you  can  take  them  wherever  you 
wish  by  simply  taking  a  pail  of  swill  to  coax  them  along.  By 
this  means  there  is  no  danger  of  injury  to  the  sow,  and  this 
treatment  saves  many  hard  words  and  blows. 

FEEDING  YOUNG  PIGS. 

The  time  has  now  come  when  the  sows  have  all  been  taken 
care  of,  properly  treated  and  fed,  and  have  had  the  range  of  a 
good  pasture  after  the  pigs  were  strong  enough  to  follow  them. 
The  pigs  are  therefore  ready  to  be  weaned,  which  should 
be  done,  if  you  desire  to  breed  the  mother  a  second  time,  when 
they  are  about  six  weeks  old.  Before  this  I  teach  the 
little  fellows  to  eat  corn  and  swill.  The  corn  I  always  soak  in 
a  barrel  of  water,  which  must  be  kept  sweet  by  putting  in  fresh 
water.  I  put  in  a  handful  of  salt  to  each  barrel.  In  the 
absence  of  milk  and  house  swill,  I  use  mill  feed.  I  make  a 
barrel  of  swill,  and  in  it  put  a  handful  of  salt.  After  standing 
from  twelve  to  twenty-four  hours,  the  weather  making  it 
slightly  acid,  it  is  ready  to  feed.  I  never  allow  it  to  get  sour. 
I  feed  twice  daily  of  this  corn  and  swill,  for  a  month  prior  to 
weaning.  I  feed  the  sows  and  pigs  together,  giving  them  all 
they  will  eat.  I  now  take  away  the  sows  for  twelve  hours 
and  keep  them  on  dry  feed  and  water,  then  let  them  go  back 
to  the  pigs.  I  separate  them  again  for  twenty-four  hours,  and 
then  let  them  out  to  their  pigs.  I  continue  to  lengthen  the 
hours  that  the  sows  are  kept  away,  until  they  are  dried  off 
without  damage  to  them  as  sucklers.  The  pigs  which  I  design 
for  the  market  I  push  as  fast  as  possible,  feeding  as  I  have 


448 


JASPER  COUNTY,  IOWA. 


stated.  In  the  Fall  I  give  them  the  run  of  the  artichoke  patch. 
Quick  returns  are  what  all  breeders  should  aim  to  make.  I 
never  keep  a  pig  but  one  Summer.  If  I  can  not  make  her  then 
weigh  at  twelve  or  fourteen  months  old  from  three  hundred  to 
three  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  I  consider  no  one  to  blame 
but  myself. 

SLEEPING  AND  BREEDING  PENS. 

I  herewith  submit  the  best  sleeping  arrangement  for  hogs 
that  I  know  of.  I  have  seen  many,  but  prefer  this  as  the  result 
of  my  experience.  I  make  the  pen  face  to  the  south,  and  have 
the  entire  front  open,  as  shown  in  the  plan  : 


Set  four  posts  in  the  ground.  The  front  posts  should  be 
five  feet  above  the  surface,  and  eight  feet  apart ;  the  rear  posts 
three  feet  above  the  level,  and  six  feet  to  the  rear.  This  makes 
a  floor  six  by  eight  feet.  The  roof  will  have  a  slope  of  two 
feet.  Cover  as  means  will  permit.  Tin  or  iron  makes  the  best 
roof,  shingles  the  next.  Boards  will,  however,  do.  Board  up 
the  ends  and  north  side.  Spike  on  in  front  a  six-inch,  and  at 
rear  an  eight-inch  joist  for  floor.  This  will  give  a  slope  of 
two  inches°to  the  front,  so  that  the  rains,  if  blown  in,  will  run 
out.  I  then  fill  with  any  earth  convenient,  pounding  it  in 
solid,  to  top  of  front  and  rear  joists,  then  cover  with  plank  or 
inch  boards.  There  must  not  be  any  space  or  air  chamber  be- 
neath the  floor,  or  it  will  be  too  cold  in  Winter.  A  better  floor 
can  be  made  by  using  stone  chips,  filling  up  with  them  as  de- 
scribed, and  cementing  them  together  with  a  cement  mortar. 


BREEDING  PEN  FOR  HOGS.  449 

A  good  clay,  moistened,  and  well  pounded  in  when  dry,  makes 
a  good  floor,  also.  The  pen  may  be  made  warmer  by  lining  the 
inside  twelve  to  eighteen  inches  high,  and  filling  in  between 
the  lining  and  outside  with  any  suitable  substance.  If  more 
pen  room  is  needed,  any  length  required  can  be  built  together, 
but  I  always  cut  it  up  in  sections  of  not  over  eight  feet  long. 
In  cold  weather  hogs  will  pile  up  if  they  can,  and  become 
heated.  This  should  always  be  prevented.  This  pen  is  proof 
against  it,  and  will  save  its  cost  in  this  way  alone.  Hogs  are 
frequently  very  much  damaged  (often  resulting  in  the  death  of 
half  the  herd,  by  sweating  and  heating  nearly  to  suffocation 
in  the  center  of  the  pile,  and  forcing  themselves  out  when  it  is 
not  possible  to  stand  it  longer.  Then  comes  the  sudden 
chill,  causing  colds,  coughs,  consumption  and  death.  I  give 
but  little  bedding,  if  any.  I  also  use  these  pens  for  my  sows 
to  have  their  pigs  in,  by  closing  up  the  front  the  proper  hight, 
and  putting  in  a  door.  The  sows,  being  accustomed  to  the 
place,  are  easily  coaxed  in.  This  I  do  ten  days  prior  to  the 
time  to  come.  As  before  sail,  I  give  but  little  bedding ;  only 
enough  to  pacify  them. 


W.  H.  PALMER, 

WATERLOO,  BLACKHAWK   COUNTY. 

Wheat  —  Oats  —  Clover  —  Corn  —  Cattle  —  Hogs  —  Sheep  — 
Pasture  and  Meadows  —  Manures  —  Fences  —  Hedges  — 
G-roves  —  Orchard  —  Farm  Buildings  —  Hay  Stacker  — 
Drainage. 

CEDAR    VALLEY    FARM 

received  its  name  from  its  owner,  and  from  its  being  situated 
on  the  slope  of  the  Valley  of  the  Red  Cedar  river,  in  Mount 
Vernon  and  Bennington  townships,  Blackhawk  Co.,  Iowa. 
I  own  four  adjoining  eighties,  together  with  the  home 
residence  on  the  corner  of  Section  twenty-four,  six  miles  north, 
and  one  east  of  the  thriving  city  of  Waterloo,  which  is  the 
29 


450  BLACKHAWK  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

head  of  navigation  on  the  Cedar  river,  a.nd  reached  by  the 
Iowa  Division  of  the  Illinois  Central  and  the  Burlington,  Cedar 
Rapids  &  Northern  railways.  I  entered  my  first  eighty  acres 
in  the  year  1856,  and  broke  my  first  land  in  1860.  In  1861  I 
made  several  additions  to  my  farm  of  land  varying  in  price 
from  $5  to  $20  per  acre.  This  gave  me  in  all  345  acres  of  roll- 
ing prairie  land,  of  a  black  loam  with  a  clay  sub-soil. 

When  my  land  was  new,  wheat  was  our  best  paying  crop. 
For  the  first  fourteen  years  I  raised  it  with  good  success.  I 
raised  an  annual  average  crop  on  my  farm  of  sixty-three  and 
one-eighth  acres,  averaging  twenty- two  and  one-half  bushels  per 
acre.  The  average  price  per  bushel  during  the  time  was  $1.12£. 
The  lowest  price  that  I  received  per  bushel  was  fifty  cents  for 
wheat  that  got  wet  in  threshing.  The  highest  price  per  bushel 
I  received  was  $2.25.  This  was  the  war  price.  I  raise  princi- 
pally Scotch  Fyfe,  also  some  Tea  and  Michigan  White  varieties. 
I  commence  to  drill  as  soon  as  I  can  after  the  20th  of  March. 
The  following  are  the  figures  arrived  at,  per  acre : 

COST  OP  EAISING  WHEAT. 

Interest  on  investments,       -  $3.00 

Plowing  one  acre,     -  -      1.00 

Seed  and  extra  cleaning,       -  -           2.00 

Drilling,  .20 

Dragging  and  rolling,  -                      .35 

Cutting,            -  .50 

Binding  and  shocking,  .75 

Stacking,                   -  -                 .75 

Threshing,  10  cents  per  bushel,  -                    2.25 

Hauling  six  miles  to  market,  -                          .67 

Total,       -  -      $11.47 

Proceeds,  22£  bushel,  at  $1.12£  per  bushel,  $25.31 
Straw,      -  -      1.00 

Total,       -  -      $26.31 

Net  proceeds=$14.84. 

For  the  last  seven  years,  however,  the  crop  has  fallen 
off  on  average  amount  raised,  and  also  in  quality,  except  for  the 


PROFITS  OF  OAT  CROP.  451 

year  1877.  I  grow  about  the  same  amount  of  straw,  but  my  land 
has  lost  the  elements  needed  to  form  the  berry.  Therefore  I 
find  the  average  of  the  last  seven  years  only  twelve  and  one- 
half  bushels  to  the  acre,  and  the  price  but  eighty  cents  per 
bushel,  leaving  a  profit  of  forty-seven  cents.  I  have  been 
troubled  twice  in  the  last  twenty-one  years  a  little  by  chinch 
bugs. 

OATS. 

I  usually  raise  a  fair  crop  of  oats,  but  sometimes  they 
lodge,  and  cost  all  they  are  worth  to  harvest  them.  The  fol- 
lowing is  their  showing : 

Interest  on  investments,       -  -        $3.00 

Plowing  one  acre,    -  -      1.00 

Seed,  -  .55 

Drilling,  .20 

Dragging  and  rolling,  -  .35 

(Jutting,  .40 

Binding  and  shocking,           -  .70 

Threshing,  4  cents  per  bushel,  -      1.60 

Hauling  six  miles  to  market,  .50 

Total,  -    $8.30 

Proceeds,  40  bushels,  at  22  cents  per  bushel,  $8.80 
Straw,  2.00 

Total,  -  $10.80 

Net  proceeds=$2.55. 

Oats  exhaust  the  land,  therefore  I  do  not  raise  more  than 
I  can  consume  on  my  farm.  I  do  not  like  to  work  barley  in 
the  land,  either,  and  do  not  raise  it.  I  sow  rye  occasionally, 
when  I  need  it  for  pasture  the  following  Spring.  Then  I  seed 
it  in  the  Fall.  I  never  raised  timothy  or  sowed  any  but  once, 
and  then  I  did  it  for  the  sake  of  the  Alsike  seed  in  it,  and  it 
paid  me  well. 

CLOVER. 

I  have  raised  considerable  red  clover  in  the  last  twelve 


452  BLACKHAWK  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

years,  with  very  good  results.  At  different  times  my  crop  has 
averaged  four  to  five  bushels  of  No.  1  seed  to  the  acre.  One 
year  I  realized  eight  dollars  per  bushel,  and  another  year  ten 
dollars  per  bushel.  The  crop  averaged  sixty  bushels.  I 
usually  sow  clover  on  the  wheat  land  after  the  wheat  is  sown 
in  the  Spring,  and  drag  it  with  a  chain  drag.  I  have  had  a 
volunteer  crop  by  plowing  the  clover  stubble  down  after  taking 
off  the  seed,  and  sowing  the  land  to  wheat.  The  following- 
Spring  it  has  re-seeded  itself  and  produced  a  good  stand, 
have  also  put  the  land  into  corn,  then  wheat,  and  it  has  re- 
seeded  itself.  I  have  threshed  the  first,  second  and  third  crops- 
from  the  same  land,  for  three  consecutive  years.  Twice  I  have 
threshed  two  crops  off  the  same  land.  I  cut  my  first  crop  for 
hay  usually  about  June  twenty-fifth,  and  it  averages  one  and 
a  half  tons  to  the  acre.  In  September  following  I  cut  the 
seed  when  it  is  a  handsome  brown,  and  when  the  dew  is  on,  or 
on  cloudy  days,  with  a  self-rake  reaper,  and  let  it  lie.  If  it 
rains,  a  shower  makes  it  thresh  all  the  better.  If  I  have  occa- 
sion to  move  it  I  do  it  with  a  barley  fork,  and  do  not  turn  it. 

Stack  when  well  dry,  and  cover  with  wild  hay.  If  it  is 
cold  in  December,  I  thresh.  I  never  break  my  sloughs  in  the 
pastures,  but  cover  them  with  clover,  by  the  application  of 
clover  straw  and  manure  from  the  barnyard,  where  the  stock 
had  been  fed  clover  hay.  Clover  does  not  exhaust  the  land, 
and  its  roots  keep  up  the  fertility  of  the  soil.  The  following 
are  the  figures  per  acre,  of  an  average  of  three  bushels,  at  six 
dollars : 

Use  of  land  one  year       -  -    $3  00 

Ten  pounds  of  seed  to  one  acre  -  -  1  00 

Dragging  and  rolling      -  30 

Cutting      -  -      40 

Stacking  and  topping      -  1  00 

Threshing  per  acre    -  -    4  17 

Cleaning  -                    21 

Hauling  six  miles  to  market      -  -                 18 

Total  - $10  26 


CLOVER  —  COST  OF  RAISING  CORN.  453 

Proceeds  of  three  bushels  per  acre 

at  $6.00  per  bushel  -  -  $18  00 

First  crop  of  grass  -  1  50 

Straw  after  threshing  -       1  00 

Net  profit  -  10  24 

Total  -  $20  50  $20  60 

I  o w.ned  the  first  huller  in  the  county.  It  was  a  John  C. 
Birdsell,  and  I  used  it  eight  years.  I  have  raised  a  few  crops 
of  Alsike  clover  seed,  and  my  land  is  well  seeded.  My  cattle, 
sheep  and  horses  are  fond  of  it,  and  of  all  clover  hay.  I  never 
have  seen  any  damage  resulting  to  horses  yet  from  eating  it, 
when  it  is  well  cured  by  salt. 

CORN. 

Corn  is  now  the  staple  crop,  to  which  I  have  turned  my 
attention  since  wheat  has  failed.  I  also  raise  hogs  and  fatten 
cattle.  The  following  are  the  figures  for  raising  corn  per  acre : 

Interest  on  investment    -  -    $3  00 

Plowing  one  acre                  -  1  00 

Seed,  marking  and  planting     -  37 

Dragging,  before  and  after  50 

Cultivating  four  times      -  1  37 

Picking  and  cribbing  -  1  50 

Total  -  $7  74 

Proceeds  of  forty  bushels  at  twenty- 
five  cents  per  bushel      -        -     $10  00 
Stalks   -  50 

Net  -  -     2  76 

$10  50  $10  50 

CATTLE. 

"When  I  commenced  cattle  raising  on  the  farm,  I  had  forty 
head  of  common  cattle.  I  have  greatly  improved  them,  using 
high  grade  or  Durham  bulls.  I  breed  my  heifers  at  three  years 
old.  At  first  my  stock  roamed  at  large.  I  cut  hay  from  the 
same  land,  and  gave  little  attention  to  tame  grass.  Since  the  pas- 


454  BLACKHAWK  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

sage  of  the  law  restraining  stock  from  running  at  large,  I  have 
seeded  down  more  than  half  of  my  farm,  and  pasture  my  own 
stock,  as  it  pays  better  than  to  cultivate  the  land,  or  send  the- 
cattle  to  the  herd,  a  distance  of  fifty  miles. 

What  it  costs  to  raise  a  steer  three  and  a 

half  years  -    $31  00 

And  to  feed  it  thereafter  five  months,  fifty- 
five  bushels  of  corn  at  twenty-five  cents 
per  bushel  -  13  75 

Hay  -      2  00 

Total  $46  75 

Proceeds  on  sixteen  hundred  pounds 
at  four  dollars  and  a  half  per  hun- 
dred are  -  $72  00 

Net  profit     -  - 25  25 

$72  00  $72  00 

I  let  five  pigs  run  after  two  steers,  thus  paying  for  all 
labor.  I  pasture  my  steeTs  until  November  fifteenth,  feeding 
them  shocked  corn  from  October  fifteenth.  Then  I  feed  in  my 
yard  for  a  month ;  next  I  tie  them  up  in  stalls  and  feed  husked 
and  shelled  and  then  ground  corn,  with  sheaf  oats  occasionally. 
I  water  them  twice  a  day.  I  feed  them  three  times,  and  give 
them  salt  twice  a  week,  with  earth  occasionally  to  lick,  which 
creates  an  appetite.  I  furnish  them  all  the  corn  and  hay  they 
will  eat,  in  order  to  make  the  most  pounds  in  the  shortest  time. 
My  cattle  are  usually  very  healthy.  I  had  five  sick  once  with 
dry  murrain,  caused  by  feeding  them  mostly  corn  and  stalks  in 
February  that  were  shocked  the  Fall  before.  Those  cattle 
died,  as  do  hundreds  of  cattle  annually  from  running  in  corn 
stalk  fields.  The  trouble  is  that  they  eat  a  large  amount  of 
corn,  dry  husks  and  stalks,  and  do  not  have  salt  enough  to 
make  them  drink  sufficient  water.  The  feed  becomes  impact  in 
the  stomach,  and  after  a  time  will  not  digest.  It  soon  irri- 
tates the  stomach,  produces  inflammation  of  the  receptacle,  and 
causes  them  great  agony  until  they  die.  Give  cattle  plenty 


HOGS  — SHEEP.  455 

of  salt  and  access  to  good  water,  and '  there  is  no  danger  of 
corn,  husk  or  smut,  as  neither  will  hurt  them. 

HOGS. 

I  generally  breed  the  Poland  China  hogs,  as  they  are  hardy, 
good  feeders,  and  are  susceptible  of  making  large  returns.  I 
generally  breed  from  old  sows,  as  the  pigs  are  stronger  and 
have  better  constitutions.  I  have  had  pigs  sick  from  quinsy, 
but  never  lost  any  from  cholera,  while  my  neighbors  have  lost 
hundreds.  I  pasture  them  through  the  Summer,  and  feed  them 
soft  coal  occasionally. 

SHEEP. 

I  have  been  always  used  to  sheep,  and  had  sole  charge 
of  over  three  hundred,  in  England,  for  years.  I  considered 
them  the  best  paying  stock  on  the  farm,  although  we  were 
always  troubled  there  with  scab  when  large  flocks  ran  together 
in  Summer.  Foot-rot  and  other  diseases  were  very  rare.  Two 
years  ago  I  wanted  something  more  to  consume  the  grass,  and 
add  to  the  fertility  of  the  soil.  I  bought  one  hundred  com- 
mon sheep  and  a  Cots  wold  buck.  At  the  expiration  of  twelve 
months  the  wool  sold  at  twenty  cents  a  pound,  unwashed,  and 
the  increase  was  worth  more  than  the  cost  of  the  original  sheep. 
This  year  (1879)  my  sheep  averaged  in  wool,  f  2.05  each.  It 
brought  twenty-five  cents  a  pound,  unwashed. 

I  never  thought  it  necessary  to  wash  sheep,  except  with 
tobacco  juice  for  scab  or  ticks,  after  shearing.  The  buck  I  pur- 
chased and  twenty  of  his  progeny  died  from  some  unknown 
cause.  They  commenced  to  die  in  August.  September  1st  I 
weaned  all  the  lambs,  when  they  died  faster.  I  think  when 
they  had  to  trust  to  their  teeth,  the  green  grass  was  too  strong 
and  caused  them  to  have  scours,  as  they  died  in  a  short  time. 

After  all,  I  do  not  consider  that  I  lost  any  money  by  my 
flock  this  year.  Nor  am  I  discouraged,  as  I  have  now  about  two 
hundred.  I  use  a  buck  over  one  year  old,  as  the  lambs  are 
stronger.  I  use  this  buck  two  years,  if  he  proves  serviceable, 
and  put  him  with  the  ewes  about  October  15th  or  20th.  I 
sell  an  occasional  buck  lamb  to  the  butcher  at  from  $2.75  to 


456  BLACKHAWK  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

$3  each.  To  get  rid  of  old  ewes  I  wean  the  lambs  early,  so  as 
to  refresh  the  ewes  on  grass.  I  fatten  them  on  ground  feed. 
I  do  not  yard  them  in  Summer,  but  I  Winter  them  in  good, 
comfortable  sheds,  protected  on  the  north  and  west  by  a  belt 
of  evergreens.  I  Winter  the  lambs  by  themselves,  and  the 
bucks  by  themselves,  except  two  months  when  they  run  with 
the  ewes.  I  feed  oats  in  the  bundle,  in  a  double  rack,  with 
mangers,  so  as  to  receive  what  falls  through.  They  have  hay 
and  all  the  straw  they  can  eat,  and  I  keep  the  yards  well  lit- 
tered. I  salt  them  once  a  week,  and  they  have  access  to  well- 
water  in  Winter  and  running  water  in  Summer. 

My  object  in  keeping  Cotswolds  is  to  have  longer  and  bet- 
ter wool,  and  heavier  mutton  of  a  better  quality  in  a  shorter 
time.  These  benefit  the  pocket  and  improve  the  farm.  It 
is  emphatically  true  in  all  business,  that  nothing  pleases  with- 
out profit  as  well  as  pleasure. 

PASTURE  AND    MEADOWS. 

I  usually  sow  grass  seed  after  wheat,  in  the  Spring,  for 
pasture  and  meadow,  and  sow  five  quarts  of  timothy,  five  quarts 
of  clover  and  five  quarts  of  red  top,  and  drag  with  chain  drag. 
I  generally  take  the  first  crop  of  clover  after  the  first  haying, 
for  seed.  I  never  sow  blue  grass  seed  nor  white  clover,  as  I 
consider  them  a  nuisance  on  all  cultivated  lands.  The  blue 
grass  has  to  be  subdued  again,  and  they  both  drive  out  every 
thing  else.  I  never  pasture  very  close,  only  so  as  to  have  red 
clover  re-seed  itself,  and  continue  for  years.  I  treat  my 
meadow  land  the  same.  The  old  grass  protects  and  keeps  the 
land  damp  in  early  Spring,  before  it  can  shade  and  protect 
itself.  I  keep  all  stock  off  the  meadows  when  they  are  soft  in 
Winter  and  Spring,  and  do  not  let  stock  pasture  in  it  after  the 
grass  starts.  I  consider  it  malpractice  to  break  up  meadows, 
as  the  older  a  meadow  the  better  it  is,  if  well  seeded  down 
and  taken  care  of. 

MANURING. 

With  reference  to  applying  manures,  I  am  satisfied  that 
more  can  be  realized  from  manuring,  as  top  dressing,  on  grass 


FENCES  —  HEDGES.  457 

lands,  particularly  on  meadows  where  the  crop  is  carried  off. 
All  manures  saved  on  the  farm  should  be  devoted  to  this  pur- 
pose. Where  convenient  it  should  be  applied  directly  after  the 
hay  comes  off,  or  in  the  Fall,  and  brushed  in  with  chain  drag. 
Cultivated  lands  can  be  kept  up  at  less  expense  with  clover 
than  with  manure. 

FENCES. 

I  formerly  used  for  fences  four  plain  wires  to  keep  out  cat- 
tle and  protect  crops.  For  hogs,  calves,  and  sheep,  two  or 
three  boards  and  two  or  three  wires  are  sufficient.  Since 
barbed  wire  has  been  introduced,  which  is  a  great  saving  over 
posts,  I  use  that.  The  first  principle  of  a  good  wire  fence  is 
that  the  end  or  corner  post  shall  have  a  boulder  as  large  as  a 
good  team  can  haul.  I  drill  a  hole  two  inches  and  put  in  a  peg 
to  fasten  the  first  post  to.  There  will  be  no  trouble  in  coming 
up  with  wire  or  frost.  I  use  two  barbed  wires,  and  one  plain 
wire  in  the  middle.  My  posts  are  two  rods  apart,  with  a  slat 
between.  This  makes  a  good  fence  against  cattle  and  horses. 
I  prefer  burr  or  white  oak  posts,  as  they  hold  nails  and  staples, 
and  will  last  from  eighteen  to  twenty  years.  Several  parties 
have  tried  to  introduce  the  iron  post.  They  are  a  good  fancy 
post,  or  a  movable  one,  but  the  interest  on  an  iron  post  would 
keep  me  in  wood  posts  and  permit  a  renewal  every  six  years. 

I  have  had  some  experience  in  fencing,  as  my  farm  is  divi- 
ded into  sixteen  fields,  surrounded  by  seven  miles  of  wire  and 
board  fence.  I  never  find  any  trouble  from  the  stock  being 
cut  with  wire  fence,  as  they  are  well  educated  in  its  uses. 

HEDGES. 

I  have  planted  several  miles  of  Osage  orange  fence.  I 
took  immense  pains  and  had  very  poor  success,  as  climate  is  too 
severe  and  kills  it  out.  I  have  about  a  mile  left  where  it  was 
protected  by  a  grove,  but  it  is  rather  unsightly.  I  have  tried 
hawthorn,  which  mildews  badly  and  dies  out.  I  have  also  tried 
several  miles  of  white  or  gray  willow,  and  have  succeeded  in 
making  a  fence,  but  it  grows  too  rapidly  and  costs  more  to  keep 
it  trimmed  than  to  keep  a  barbed  wire  fence  in  repair.  And  if 


458  BLACKHAWK  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

this  fence  is  not  trimmed,  it  is  useless  as  a  fence,  and  shades 
and  takes  two  rods  of  land  on  each  side  of  the  trees.  There- 
fore I  consider  it  a  nuisance,  except  on  the  north  side  of  a  pas- 
ture, for  shelter  for  stock  in  the  Fall,  or  for  shade  in  the  Sum- 
mer. Arbor  Vitse  makes  a  nice  ornamental  hedge  for  door- 
yard  or  for  screens. 

GROVES. 

Sixteen  years  ago,  after  raising  one  crop  of  wheat  to  pay 
for  the  land,  I  planted  a  grove  of  five  acres  around  my  orchard 
and  yards,  for  two  purposes  ;  one  was  for  protection,  the  other 
was  fuel.  I  succeeded  in  both.  I  planted  the  grove  with  soft 
maple,  mixed  with  white  ash,  oak,  chestnut,  timber  locust, 
black  and  white  walnut,  sixteen  feet  each  way.  After  five 
years  the  soft  maple  died  out,  from  being  poisoned  by  the  white 
walnut.  They  will  not  grow  together.  They  did  not  die 
in  debt,  however,  as  they  furnished  me  with  firewood  three 
years.  Now  I  have  a  beautiful  grove  of  white  walnuts  and 
the  other  varieties.  Inside  of  this  grove  my  orchard  and  yards 
are  protected  by  six  to  twelve  rows  of  arbor  vitse  and  red 
cedar,  eight  feet  apart,  alternately,  which  are  twenty  to  twenty- 
five  feet  high,  and  large  enough  for  posts,  affording  a  wind- 
break, we  can  not  look  or  even  go  through  it. 

TREE  PROTECTION. 

This  is  what  I  call  protection  to  man  and  beast,  as  man  is 
not  troubled  with  snow,  and  sheep  and  cattle  chew  their  cud 
and  sun  themselves  at  pleasure.  Every  farmer  ought  to  have 
it,  for  the  cost  is  nothing  compared  to  its  comfort,  when  we  have 
the  Manitoba  wave  booming  down  upon  us  at  the  rate  of  2:40. 
I  have  other  groves  of  soft  maple  and  ash,  from  which  I  have 
had  my  firewood  /or  the  last  ten  years,  with  plenty  to  spare, 
while  some  of  my  neighbors  are  burning  corn.  I  also  have  a 
grove  of  two  acres  of  walnut,  and  two  acres  of  white  pine  and 
larch,  which  is  the  best,  and  admired  by  all  who  see  it.  It  is 
planted  north  and  west  of  a  little  creek,  to  keep  away  the  snows 
in  Winter,  so  that  cattle  can  drink  at  all  times.  My  one,  two 
and  three  year  old  plants  were  pulled  up  in  the  forest  at 


PLANTING  TREES  —  COTTONWOOD.  45$ 

Sturgeon's  Bay,  Wis.,  and  cost  me,  delivered  at  Waterloo  by 
express,  $2.00  per  thousand.  I  planted  in  beds,  and  shaded 
one  year,  then  planted  in  rows  in  the  nursery,  and  cultivated 
another  year.  I  then  planted  in  the  grove  as  early  as  the 
buds  started,  and  not  later  than  corn  planting  time,  and  in  the 
same  condition  as  for  planting  corn. 

PLANTING  TREES. 

I  have  always  had  great  success  in  planting  trees,  as  I 
never  expose  the  roots.  I  planted  my  pine  and  larch  grove  in 
rows  four  feet  apart,  and  eight  feet  apart  in  the  row,  alternately, 
and  cultivated  two  years  in  corn  and  potatoes. 

I  keep  a  nursery  of  all  such  material  for  sale,  which  has 
paid  me  well,  and  given  me  trees  for  little  or  nothing.  This 
grove  is  seven  years  old,  and  the  trees  are  ten  to  twelve  feet 
high.  Their  average  growth  each  year  is  now  two  feet,  and 
though  they  stand  too  thick  now,  they  are  all  the  better  for  the 
growth.  I  chop  them  down  or  thin  them  out  for  Christmas 
trees,  and  also  feed  to  the  sheep  for  the  pitch  and  tar  that  are 
in  them.  They  will  eat  both  bark  and  branch. 

COTTONWOOD. 

Eighteen  years  ago  I  planted  two  rows  of  cottonwoods, 
eight  feet  apart,  one  for  posts  and  one  for  shade,  sixteen  feet 
apart  in  each  row  alternately.  On  the  other  side  of  the  road  I 
planted  soft  maples,  forming  a  beautiful  avenue,  admired  by  all 
who  saw  them.  The  trees  grew  well  to  the  hight  of  fifty  feet. 
Their  shade  and  roots  claimed  three  rods  of  land  from  them. 
In  1877  I  chopped  down  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  trees  in 
one  row,  and  cut  off  the  other  row  ten  feet  high,  making  sixty 
cords  of  five  foot  wood,  which  I  hauled  six  miles  and  sold  for 
$5,00  per  cord.  The  stumps  grew  one  year,  and  died.  I  am 
not  sorry,  as  cottonwood  trees  are  a  nuisance  on  a  line  for  posts, 
or  for  any  other  use. 

ARTIFICIAL    GROVES. 

I  have  twenty  acres  in  six  groves,  and  have  tried  trees  of 
almost  every  variety  known  from  New  York  City  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  For  general  cultivation  I  should  plant  European 


460  BLACKHAWK  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

larch,  white  ash,  and  nut-bearing  trees,  with  the  exception  of 
chestnut,  which  is  too  tender  for  this  climate.  Every  nook  and 
corner  and  some  very  poor  land  in  England  is  planted  to  larch, 
for  gates,  posts  and  common  building  lumber.  The  white  ash 
is  good  for  mechanical  purposes.  For  protection  I  prefer  white 
pine,  Norway  spruce  and  arbor  vitse.  This  latter  is  also  good 
for  screens  or  ornamental  hedges.  No  man  in  Iowa  should  be 
buried  in  a  coffin  if  he  has  not  planted  a  tree  to  make  one.  W. 
C.  Bryant,  in  his  "  Forest  Hymn,"  writes :  "  The  groves  were 
God's  first  temples."  But  I  say  artificial  groves  are  the  plant- 
er's living  monuments,  showing  the  work  of  our  hands  until 
our  name  and  even  our  generation  pass  away  and  be  forgotten. 
They  are  also  things  of  beauty,  which  are  joys  forever. 

ORCHAED. 

Having  had  eighteen  years'  experience  with  my  orchard 
since  I  planted  it,  my  dead  trees  have  taught  me  a  lesson  as  to 
what  and  how  to  plant.  I  planted  trees  recommended  by  the 
Northern  Illinois  Horticultural  Society,  such  as  Early  Joe, 
Early  Harvest,  Gilliflower,  Little  Red  Romanite,  Domine, 
Yellow  Bellflower,  White  Bellflower,  White  Winter  Pear- 
main,  English,  American  and  other  russets,  Rambo,  Milan, 
Northern  Spy,  and  many  others.  More  or  less  of  all  these 
are  dead  and  dying.  I  would  choose  for  planting,  Jonathan, 
a  beautiful  apple,  early,  and  a  profitable  bearer ;  Rawle's 
Jannet,  a  small  apple,  but  a  good  keeper  ;  Sops  of  Wine,  Fall 
Wine,  Yellow  Jenneton,  Fall  Swaar,  Seek-no-further.  I 
would  also  recommend  Ironclad ;  they  have  given  solid  satis- 
faction. For  Summer,  I  choose  Duchess  of  Oldenburg  and 
Red  Astrachan.  For  Fall,  Fameuse  or  Snow  and  Wagner. 
For  Winter,  Tallman  Sweet  and  Willow  Twig. 

I  have  three  and  one-half  acres  of  orchard ;  one  piece  of 
two  acres,  has  borne  for  ten  years ;  the  other  piece  has  died, 
and  I  have  replanted  it.  I  planted  the  trees  twenty  feet  apart, 
but  would  recommend  twenty-five  feet  for  hardy  trees,  three 
to  four  years  old,  and  procured  of  some  reliable  nurseryman. 


FARM  BUILDINGS  — HAY  STACKER.  461 

Never  buy  of  tree  peddlers,  as  they  have  only  the  cullings  from 
some  nursery,  and  name  them  to  suit  the  purchaser.  Such 
men  always  claim  that  they  represent  some  good  nursery.  My 
apple  trees  have  borne  well  for  the  last  four  years,  particularly 
in  the  year  1878,  when  I  gathered  six  hundred  bushels  from 
them.  I  prune  a  little  in  Summer,  when  the  trees  are  young, 
but  rarely  afterward,  unless  they  crowd  each  other.  The 
enemies  of  the  apple  trees  most  prevalent  are  the  rabbits, 
which  I  treat  to  cold  lead.  The  caterpiller,  also,  annoys  me. 
I  destroy  them.  The  grass  mice  come,  but  I  drive  them  away 
by  pasturing  close  in  the  Fall. 

FARM  BUILDINGS. 

My  farm  buildings  are  ample  and  convenient,  but  I  do  not 
pretend  that  they  are  models.  I  built  over  two  hundred  feet 
by  fourteen  feet,  eighteen  years  ago,  of  lumber,  and  they  do 
good  service  yet.  My  sheds  are  partly  open  to  the  yards,  where 
the  stock  cattle  run.  I  have  a  convenient  barn,  horse  stable, 
fat  cattle  stable,  granary,  wagon  shed,  hen  house,  piggery,  etc., 
well  built  and  protected  with  evergreens  for  comfort.  I  believe 
in  good  protection  for  myself  and  brutes.  As  I  have  not  barn 
room  enough  for  all  my  hay,  I  have  used  a  contrivance  of  my 
own  to  stack  hay  with  horse  power,  which  I  have  greatly  im- 
proved by  the  use  of  E.  L.  Church  &  Co.'s  improved  Hay 
Elevator  and  Carrier.  I  use  the  track  carrier  in  the  barn,  and 
and  the  rod  carrier  for  stacking. 

My  stacker  is  made  of  three  red  elm  poles,  two  at  the  load 
end  of  the  stack,  and  one  at  the  other  end,  The  hay  passes 
up  from  the  load  thirty-five  feet  high  to  a  cross  bar,  seven  feet 
long,  fastened  to  the  two  poles;  then  it  passes,  on  a  rod  forty- 
five  feet  long,  over  the  center  of  the  stack,  where  it  ought  to 
be  most  solid.  It  is  guyed  well  and  solid  with  fence  wire,  and- 
works  to  a  charm,  making  a  stack  over  thirty  feet  high,  twenty 
by  forty  feet  long.  It  puts  a  large  bulk  in  a  stack,  and  does 
not  spoil  one-third,  as  is  usually  done  by  the  old  way.  The 
hay  is  also  got  to  the  stack  with  ease. 


462 


BLACKHAWK  COUNTY,  IOWA. 


HAY   STACKER. 


The  above  cut  is  the  plan  of  the  stacker ;  been  in  use  twelve 
years.  The  three  red  elm  poles  are  thirty-five  feet  long  by  seven 
or  eight  inches  in  diameter  at  the  large  end  (telegraph  poles 
will  do  first  rate),  using  a  three-quarter  inch  iron  rod  forty-five 
feet  long,  from  the  cross-bar,  seven  feet  long,  to  single  pole,  as 
a  track,  and  a  three-eighth  guy  wire  at  each  end  anchored  to  a 
boulder  and  tightened  by  a  screw  where  stationary,  to  move 
use  post.  The  weight  runs  up  and  down  this  guy  to  return 
the  fork  and  carrier,  and  the  two  other  guys,  number  9  fence 
wire,  at  each  end,  act  as  braces. 

The  entire  cost  of  the  outfit,  including  rope,  fork,  poles, 
etc.,  need  rarely  reach  thirty  dollars. 

The  fork  works  directly  between  the  load  and  the  stack, 
carrying  its  burden  the  entire  length  of  the  latter,  and  dropping 
it  anywhere  through  the  center  of  the  stack,  so  the  builder  can 
evenly  distribute  it;  it  follows  that  the  stack,  when  finished, 
will  be  hardest  packed  in  the  center,  and  in  settling  the  out- 
sides  fall  much  lower,  forming  a  complete  water  shed. 

In  stacking  in  this  manner,  the  stacker  needs  no  help, 
and  it  is  much  easier  than  the  old  way,  and  four  times  faster. 

The  same  remarks  hold  true  when  filling  barns  and  sheds. 

DRAINING. 

I  have  had  considerable  observation  and  practical  experi- 


DRAINAGE.  463 

ence  in  England  as  a  renter,  with  regard  to  draining,  which 
induces  me  to  adopt  the  same  plan  here  in  my  adopted  country, 
and  on  land  of  my  own. 

Good  drainage  removes  from  the  surface  stagnant  water 
which  sours  all  vegetation  and  rots  sheep.  It  also  utilizes  the 
water,  making  a  running  stream  for  sheep  or  stock  to  drink 
from,  and  rendering  the  farm  more  pleasing  to  the  eye. 

I  have  known  drainage  to  be  done  in  various  ways,  with 
willow  or  brush,  where  stone  or  tile  could  not  be  had.  Stones 
picked  up  in  the  fields  and  put  in  the  drain,  four  inches  in  the 
bottom  and  sixteen  inches  high  in  a  drain  of  three  and  a  half 
feet  deep,  are  considered  better  than  tiles,  where  field  stones 
are  plenty,  as  in  some  kinds  of  soil  the  tile  are  liable  to  get  full 
of  sediment  in  a  few  years.  I  saw  tile  draining  in  England 
in  1854  and  1855.  In  1864  I  visited  that  country  again,  when 
some  of  the  drains  were  choked  with  sediment.  I  returned 
to  England  again  in  1875  and  1876,  and  those  drains  were  still 
growing  worse.  This  sediment  is  the  accumulation  in  the  tile 
from  the  yellowish  water,  and  the  tile  becomes  filled  with  roots. 

I  drained  one  hundred  and  five  rods  last  Summer  and 
adopted  the  following  mode :  I  commenced  at  the  lower  end 
so  that  the  water  could  run  off.  I  dug  about  ten  rods  and  put 
in  three  inch  tile  as  evenly  as  possible,  with  grass  or  wild  hay 
on  top,  around.  Then  I  cut  down  the  sides  of  the  ditch,  being 
soft  and  porous ;  then  part  of  the  surface  soil,  then  clay,  topping 
off  with  soil ;  and  so  on  with  fifteen  rods  more,  to  the  end.  Near 
the  lower  end  I  put  in  a  large  watering  trough,  and  carried  the 
water  along  through  it,  running  over  the  lower  end  and  dropping 
off  into  the  drain  again.  I  dug  out  a  place  for  the  stock  to  go 
down,  and  as  the  outlet  drain  is  as  low  as  the  trough,  it  keeps 
dry  if  stoned  up,  and  makes  a  splendid  watering  place,  cool 
in  Summer  and  warm  in  Winter.  It  has  run  all  Summer. 

It  cost  thirty  cents  a  rod  for  digging  three  and  a  half  feet 
deep  The  three  inch  tile  cost  fifty  cents  per  rod.  The  haul- 
ing of  the  tile  nine  miles,  laying  and  filling,  twenty  cents  per 
rod.  Total  cost  one  dollar  per  rod.  I  should  have  drained 
before,  but  when  I  could  buy  eighty  acres  cheaper  than  I 


464  DECATUR  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

could  drain  a  piece  of  wet  land,  I  did  so.  Drain  tile  are 
high  here,  as  there  are  no  facilities  for  making  them,  but  I 
intend  to  drain  two  sloughs,  one  and  a  half  mile  long,  next 
Summer,  for  the  benefit  of  the  land,  and  the  use  of  the  water 
in  each  pasture.  The  wet  land  is  of  little  use  without  drain- 
ing, and  the  water  obtained  is  worth  all  the  labor,  as  it  is  not 
like  a  windmill,  which  requires  oil  and  repairs  often. 

My  land  is  watered  with  a  fine  running  stream,  open  Win- 
ter and  Summer,  protected  from  the  snow  by  a  white  pine 
grove,  making  it  pleasant  for  stock  to  stand  around.  I  have 
also  another  first  rate  watering  place,  (in  use  ten  years,)  a 
large,  stoned  well,  eleven  feet  across  and  six  feet  deep,  with  an 
approach  planked  for  the  stock  to  go  down  to  drink. 


GEORGE  W.  SHAW, 

GARDEN  GROVE,  DECATUR  COUNTY. 

A  Fruit  Farm  That  has  Paid  Ten  Per  Cent.  Interest  on  the 
Investment — Planting  and  Pruning  Pear  Orchard — Cherries 
—  Currants  —  Grapes. 

In  treating  a  subject  that  volumes  have  been  written  about,. 
I  can  only  briefly  touch  on  such  varieties  of  fruit  as  have  paid 
ten  per  cent,  on  time  and  money  employed.  The  peach,  goose- 
berry, strawberry,  raspberry  and  blackberry,  though  profitable 
with  others,  have  not  been  remunerative  with  me,  probably 
for  the  want  of  proper  care. 

APPLES. 

In  planting  our  early  apple  orchards,  up  to  the  hard 
Winters  of  1855,  '56  and  '57,  the  old  style  of  growing  trees 
had  been  adopted  ;  planting  far  apart,  and  trimming  the  trees 
up,  six  or  eight  feet  from  the  ground.  Those  terrible  hard 
winds  and  destruction  of  trees,  caused  a  change  in  growing 
fruits.  The  cry  then  was,  low  heads  and  no  pruning.  Conse- 


PRUNING  — LIST  OF  APPLES.  465 

quently  in  the  West,  we  have  tens  of  thousands  of  trees, 
planted  from  eight  to  twenty  feet  apart,  whose  limbs  touch, 
and  which  are  unpruned,  and  in  an  unhealthy  condition. 

PRUNING. 

Some  have  commenced  cutting  out  every  other  tree; 
others  prune  up  six  or  eight  feet  high.  I  have  pruned  more 
than  enough  fuel  for  a  year's  consumption  from  my  orchard, 
and  yet  it  needs  more. 

In  my  late  planting,  I  have  aimed  to  plant  two  rods  apart, 
good  healthy  two  and  three  year  old  trees,  with  limbs  coming 
out  like  the  thumb  from  the  hand,  not  having  branches  closer 
than  from  three  to  four  feet  from  the  ground.  I  try  to  grow 
them  in  a  conical  form,  with  the  limbs  twelve  to  eighteen  inches 
apart,  and  equally  distributed  around  the  tree.  I  have  no 
forks. 

BEARING  TREES 

My  first  trees  bore  some  fruit  after  being  set  out  five 
.years.  I  would  prefer  not  to  have  them  bear  heavily  until 
they  had  ten  years'  growth  in  orchard.  The  best  bearers  are 
those  that  are  the  most  heavily  manured.  A  wagon  load  scat- 
tered underneath  the  branches  of  a  large  tree,  seems  to  make 
it  bear  well,  and  I  think  it  a  great  help,  causing  the  tree  to 
endure  the  drouths  of  Summer,  and  the  cold,  dry  freezes  of 
Winter.  My  Northern  Spy  trees  bear  grandly,  treated  as 
above,  every  year.  The  weeds  are  mowed  down  in  July  or 
August,  and  are  left  on  the  ground  for  mulch. 

LIST  OP  APPLES. 

For  Summer.  Early  Harvest,  Red  Astrachan,  Duchess  of 
Oldenburg,  Benoni,  Early  Joe. 

For  Autumn.  Lowell,  Dyer,  Maiden's  Blush,  early  Pennock, 
Rambo,  Fameuse. 

For  Winter.  Ben  Davis,  Rawle's  Jannet,  Willow  Twig,  Jona- 
than, Northern  Spy,Winesap,  Small  Romanite,  Grimes'  Golden. 

PEAR  ORCHARD. 

It  is  with  some  diffidence  that  I  write  about  the  pear, 

30 


466  DECATUR  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

since  such  high  authority  as  D.  B.  Wier  claims  that  it  costs 
five  hundred  dollars  to  raise  a  bushel  of  pears  in  Iowa  or 
Illinois.  I  had  thought  that  five  dollars  per  bushel  was  pretty 
good  pay  for  raising  this  fruit ,  say,  fifty  bushels  of  oats  for  one 
of  pears.  It  did  seem  like  a  good  price,  not  like  a  bank  presi- 
dent's salary,  or  the  warden's  of  a  penitentiary,  yet  a  fair  way 
for  a  laboring  man  to  earn  a  livelihood. 

DEEP  PLANTING. 

I  respect  the  plan  of  deep  planting,  plowing  the  dirt  to 
the  trees,  but  prune  little,  aiming  to  get  an  early  growth  of 
not  more  than  ten  or  twelve  inches  annually,  and  giving  no 
cultivation  after  coming  into  bearing,  except  to  put  a  wheel- 
barrow load  of  manure  around  each  tree  in  July,  working  it 
into  the  ground  next  Spring,  if  the  tree  has  failed  to  make  its 
twelve  inches  of  growth  during  the  previous  year.  Otherwise* 
I  simply  leave  it  to  act  as  a  mulch,  thus  keeping  the  ground 
cool  and  damp  in  Summer,  and  warm  and  moist  in  Winter. 

PRUNING. 

Let  the  limbs  grow  from  the  ground  up ;  prune  with  the 
thumb  nail ;  remove  dead  limbs  with  the  saw ;  cover  saw  cuts 
with  grafting  wax. 

RIPENING  THE  FRUIT. 

Gather  the  fruit  when  hard,  but  while  it  will  separate  readily 
from  the  stem  when  lifted  up.  There  are  frequently  several 
weeks'  difference  in  the  ripening  of  pears  on  the  same  tree. 
My  plan  of  ripening  is  to  place  several  bushels  on  an  upper 
floor,  with  a  blanket  under  and  one  over  them.  They  color  up 
better,  and  are  much  more  delicious  and  melting  than  when 
left  to  ripen  on  the  tree. 

Beurre  Giffard,  which  I  gathered  on  the  thirtieth  of  July, 
were  thoroughly  ripe  by  the  ninth  of  August,  after  treated  as 
above.  Louise  Bonne  de  Jersey  and  Sheldon,  gathered  Sep- 
tember first,  were  delicious  by  the  tenth.  The  Lawrence  is  my 
only  Winter  pear  that  yields  much  ;  but  with  the  above  treat- 
ment, it  does  not  ripen  as  well  as  the  others. 

I  have  planted  pears  thirty-five  years,  probably  not  more 


CHERRY  ORCHARD  — CURRANTS          467 

than  fifteen  in  one  hundred  are  living  now ;  yet  the  investment 
has  brought,  I  think,  ten  per  cent,  on  my  time  and  money  em- 
ployed, besides  happiness  in  seeing  the  trees  grow,  bloom,  and 
become  loaded  with  fruit,  which  can  not  be  measured  by  dollars 
and  cents. 

LIST   OF   PEARS. 

The  standards  are:  Beurre  Giffards,  Bartlett,  Sickle,  Shel- 
don. 

The  Dwarfs  are  :  Louise  Bonne  de  Jersey,  Duchesse  d* 
Angouleme. 

CHERRY   ORCHARD. 

The  Early  May  is  to  the  cherry,  what  the  Rawle's  Jannet, 
is  to  the  apple,  the  Sheldon  to  the  pear,  and  the  Concord  to  the 
grape — the  stand-by. 

My  trees  are  planted  ten  feet  apart  each  way,  and  bear 
well  the  seasons  that  the  cherry  hits.  For  the  first  few  years 
I  plowed  among  the  trees ;  the  last  ten  years  the  ground  has 
been  in  grass.  If  I  were  to  plant  again,  I  should  plant  twenty 
feet  apart,  each  way.  The  cherry  is  not  so  well  colored,  and 
not  so  sweet,  when  the  trees  are  crowded.  The  plum  stone 
Morello  is  a  good  late  cherry,  and  bears  nearly  every  year. 

The  English  Morello  I  find  to  be  the  best  cherry  for  pies 
and  canning.     I  have  twelve  trees  of  this  variety,  and  for  the 
last  ten  years,  have  placed  annually  around  each  tree,  a  wheel- 
barrow load  of  manure.     My  trees  are  very  healthy,  and  bear- 
almost  as  well  as  the  Early  May. 

THE  CURRANT. 

No  fruit  gives  a  more  generous  return  for  good  cultivation^ 
than  this ;  and  though  it  will  grow  in  almost  any  soil,  yet  to 
have  really  fine  fruit,  the  ground  should  be  well  prepared  by 
bountiful  manuring,  with  well-rotted  stable  manure,  and  deep 
and  thorough  plowing. 

In  planting,  the  roots  should  have  plenty  of  room  so  that 
they  may  be  spread  out  in  their  natural  position ;  and  the  earth 
should  be  carefully  drawn  around  them,  so  that  after  the> 
ground  settles,  they  will  be  no  deeper  than  they  stood  in  the-- 
nursery. 


468  DECATUR  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

i 

No  plant  or  shrub  suffers  more  from  cramping  the  roots, 
and  from  deep  planting,  than  does  the  currant.  This  fruit 
requires  much  more  room  than  is  generally  allowed  to  it.  For 
large  plantations,  the  rows  should  be  six  feet  apart  each  way, 
admitting  horse  culture  without  danger  of  rubbing  off  the 
fruit,  or  injuring  the  bushes. 

Mulching  with  straw,  is  recommended  by  some  to  keep 
down  the  weeds.  I  find  this  makes  such  a  harbor  for  insects 
that  I  have  been  compelled  to  dispense  with  it.  If  the  bushes 
are  not  mulched,  they  should  be  plowed  three  or  four  times 
every  season,  thus  keeping  the  ground  loose,  and  the  weeds 
down.  In  the  Fall,  a  good  supply  of  well  rotted  manure 
should  be  placed  around  the  bushes,  to  be  worked  in,  in  the 
Spring.  The  currant  is  a  great  feeder,  and  the  difference  be- 
tween fruit  raised  under  the  cultivation  here  recommended, 
.and  that  which  it  generally  receives,  will  astonish  those  who 
iiave  left  it  to  care  for  itself. 

Much  is  said  about  growing  the  currant  as  a  tree,  but  in 
practice  with  us  it  is  "no  go,"  as  bushes  so  grown  are  short 
lived.  A  better  way  is  to  allow  about  six  or  eight  shoots  to 
•come  out  at  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  practice  the  renewal 
system.  Every  three  or  four  years,  as  the  old  wood  becomes 
stunted  I  cut  it  out,  having  the  year  previous  to  this  operation, 
permitted  young  shoots  to  come  out  at  the  base  of  the  old  ones, 
to  take  their  places.  In  this  way  my  bushes  are  kept  healthy, 
and  vigorous,  and  will  continue  to  bear  good  crops  for  many 
years. 

I  have  most  of  the  newer  varieties  under  cultivation,  but 
have  seen  no  decided  superiority  over  the  red,  and  white 
Dutch,  and  it  is  with  the  currant  as  with  other  fruits.  A 
>farmer  should  plant  those  varieties  which  have  proven  them- 
selves to  be  good,  profitable  and  hardy,  leaving  the  fancy  sorts 
for  amateurs. 

THE    GRAPE. 

With  the  very  low  price  of  foreign  fruits,  if  we  expect  to 
bring  grapes  into  universal  use,  they  must  be  offered  at  very 


GRAPE  CULTURE  — BIRDS.  459 

low  rates.  I  give  below  the  plan  that  I  have  tried  ever  since 
1860.  I  have  always  had  a  good  market ;  in  fact,  it  is  the  most, 
profitable  of  any  fruit  that  I  grow,  and  I  have  never  failed  to 
have  a  good  crop  since  1864. 

My  grape  roots  I  plant  twelve  feet  apart,  each  way,  and 
always  cultivate  toward  the  grapes,  thus  forming  a  mound 
where  each  plant  stands.  I  have  generally  grown  corn,  or 
vegetables  among  them,  cultivating  with  the  plow,  giving  good 
clean  culture,  letting  the  grape  have  its  own  way,  for  the  first 
two  or  three  years. 

When  the  vine  is  six  or  eight  feet  long,  I  lay  it  down  in  a 
circle  around  the  parent  stem,  covering  it  slightly  with  dirt. 
It  now  takes  root.  After  this  I  prune  and  cultivate  as  I  would 
the  currant,  sometimes  putting  brush  under  the  grapes,  to  keep 
them  off  the  ground. 

One  of  these  stools  frequently  yields  one  hundred  pounds 
of  grapes  in  a  season.  I  have  less  trouble  to  sell  two  tons  of 
grapes  now,  than  I  had  to  sell  one  hundred  pounds  in  1865. 
The  farmers  come  and  get  them,  by  five  and  ten  dollars  worth, 
to  make  into  pickles  and  preserves. 

Of  course  grapes  grown  in  this  way  are  not  as  good  as 
where  only  tan  or  twenty  pounds  are  grown  to  the  vine,  which 
is  staked  up  from  the  ground.  The  only  grape  that  I  have 
tried  this  way  is  the  Concord,  and  this  would  probably  not  be  a 
success  with  high-priced  land  —  financially. 

BIRDS. 

I  need  not  argue  the  necessity  of  birds  in  profitable  or- 
chard management.  For  the  past  five  years,  in  the  Summer 
months,  I  have  placed  in  the  orchard  a  box  containing  fifteen  or 
twenty  bushels  of  oats,  and  have  also  kept  a  trough  of  water, 
replenished  daily,  for  the  use  of  the  birds.  The  quail,  robin, 
dove,  and  blackbird,  tame  the  easiest.  The  dove,  raises  several 
broods  during  the  season,  and  becomes  so  gentle,  and  tame, 
that  I  can  almost  lay  my  hand  on  her. 

It  is  a  pleasant  thing,  at  daylight  to  hear  hundreds  of  birds 
sing,  as  they  come  to  get  their  breakfast,  and  to  bathe  in  tho 


470  BUENA  VISTA  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

water  in  the  trough.  It  is  true,  the  birds  destroy  some  apples 
and  cherries,  yet,  as  an  offset,  some  years  I  raise  three  thous- 
and bushels  of  apples,  with  scarcely  a  wormy  apple  in  the 
lot. 

THE  MORTGAGE  BAD  FOR  FRUIT. 

The  orchard  is  the  first  to  feel  the  effects  of  the  mortgage ; 
in  many  cases  in  a  few  months  after  the  loan  is  effected,  the 
cattle  and  horses  are  permitted  to  range  at  their  pleasure, 
among  choice  vines  and  trees ;  the  fruits  of  long  years  of 
patient  toil  are  destroyed.  In  a  few  years,  disheartened  and 
discouraged,  the  farmer,  like  the  Indian  when  he  first  sees  the 
quails  and  bees  come,  knows  his  hour  has  come  to  go  West. 


JAMES  D.  ADAMS, 

ALTA,    BTJENA  VISTA    COUNTY. 

Fine    Stock    County  —  Plenty    of  Mange  —  Herd  Law  —  Oats, 
Corn,  Wheat,  Flax  and  Clover. 

Buena  Vista  county  is  situated  in  the  northwestern  part  of 
Iowa,  being  the  third  county  from  the  north  line  of  the  State, 
and  also  the  third  from  the  west  line.  It  is  very  nearly  all 
prairie,  with  only  a  small  portion  of  timber  along  Little  Sioux 
river,  on  the  north  line  of  the  county. 

THE  SOIL. 

The  soil  is  of  the  best  quality,  deep  black  mold,  without 
either  flint  or  gravel,  gently  rolling,  and  producing  a  heavy 
growth  annually  of  wild  prairie  grass.  This  county  is  on  the 
dividing  ridge  separating  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  from 
those  of  the  Missouri,  about  three-fourths  of  the  county 
descending  gently  toward  the  east,  and  the  western  part 
toward  the  southwest.  Little  Sioux  river  runs  nearly  through 
the  north  part  of  the  county  from  the  east  to  the  west  line, 
following  nearly  on  and  along  the  north  line  of  the  county. 


STOCK  — CATTLE  RANGE.  471 

The  first  settlement  in  the  county  was  made  on  Little 
Sioux  river  in  1857.  There  were  but  few  families  in  the 
county  until  after  the  Illinois  Central  railroad  was  built  from 
Dubuque  to  Sioux  City,  in  1869. 

ADVANTAGES. 

No  county  in  the  United  States  produces  better  crops  of 
grass  or  grain  than  Buena  Vista  county,  with  the  same  outlay 
in  farming.  The  amount  of  grain  and  fat  stock  shipped  from 
the  county  is  astonishing. 

The  climate  is  unsurpassed  for  health]  and  salubrity. 
Spring  opens  here  generally  in  the  latter  part  of  March,  and 
first  frosts  are  had  about  the  first  of  October.  I  have  resided 
in  this  county  ten  years,  and  have  never  seen  a  frost 
sufficient  to  kill  vines  earlier  than  the  middle  of  September.  I 
have  never  seen  a  thaw  in  Winter  sufficient  to  make  muddy 
roads  except  once. 

STOCK. 

Hogs  are  the  principal  stock  raised.  My  favorite  breed  is 
the  Poland  China.  Within  the  last  two  years  there  has  been 
a  very  large  increase  of  cattle  in  the  county,  thousands  of 
young  cattle  having  been  shipped  in  from  the  eastern  part 
of  the  State.  There  came  during  the  Winters  of  1879  and 
1880  many  herds  of  from  fifty  to  two  hundred  head. 

CATTLE  RANGE. 

Iowa  enables  any  county  in  the  State,  by  a  vote  of  the 
people  of  the  county,  to  compel  every  one  to  take  care  of  his  own 
stock,  thus  saving  hundreds  upon  hundreds  of  dollars  to 
every  farmer  by  dispensing  with  fences,  except  such  as  each 
farmer  may  see  fit  to  build  to  care  for  his  own  stock.  A  law- 
suit has  never  been  brought  against  any  owner  for  the 
trespassing  of  stock  in  consequence  of  poor  division  fences  or 
otherwise. 

No  country  in  the  world  offers  such  inducements  to  a  poor 
man  to  commence  farming  in  as  does  northwestern  Iowa. 
Good  land  can  be  had  of  railroad  land  companies  at  from  five 
to  ten  dollars  an  acre,  and  the  farmer  with  a  good  pair  of 


472  BUENA  VISTA  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

horses  can  break  from  one  to  two  acres  a  day,  and  if  broken  in 
May,  flax  can  be  sown  on  the  sod  which  will  yield  from  seven  to 
ten  bushels  seed  to  the  acre,  worth  one  dollar  per  bushel.  This 
will  pay  all  expenses  of  breaking  the  ground,  and  puts  the 
ground  in  fine  condition  for  a  wheat  crop  the  next  season. 

HERDING   CATTLE. 

Those  who  wish  to  raise  stock  must  provide  sufficient  yards 
to  properly  shelter  and  prevent  the  cattle  from  roaming  in 
Winter,  when  the  grass  starts  in  the  Spring.  I  am  but  a  few 
miles  away  from  the  herding  grounds,  where  our  stock  are 
taken  care  of  for  the  season  for  fifty  cents  per  head.  Such 
herds  are  kept  every  season  in  different  parts  of  the  county, 
and  kept  together  by  the  herder  who  contracts  to  salt  once  a 
week  ;  and  such  grounds  are  selected  near  a  supply  of  water, 
so  that  their  every  want  is  supplied.  Thousands  of  cattle  are 
shipped  from  northwestern  Iowa  every  season  to  Chicago 
market  without  having  been  fed  any  grain,  getting  very  fat  on 
prairie  grass  alone.  There  are  some  fine  dairies  started  lately 
in  this  county. 

CROPS 

have  never  been  an  entire  failure  in  the  ten  years  that  I  have 
lived  here.  In  a  few  instances  my  wheat  crop  has  partially 
failed,  so  that  my  average  yield  was  small — from  seven  to  ten 
bushels  —  but  my  general  crop  in  fair  seasons  for  wheat  has 
been  from  fifteen  to  twenty-five  bushels.  I  average  from  thirty 
to  sixty  bushels  of  oats  per  acre,  corn  from  thirty  to  seventy- 
five  bushels  to  the  acre.  This  latter  crop  has  never  failed  in 
any  season,  except  once  when  grasshoppers  injured  it  some. 
I  have  never  had  grass  fail  to  any  extent. 

ROTATION    OF    CROPS. 

First,  on  newly  broken  prairie,  sow  flax,  about  three  pecks 
to  the  acre.  I  sow  as  early  in  the  season  as  the  land  is  in  good 
condition  to  break,  which  is  when  the  grass  gets  well  started 
to  gro  \ving  in  Spring. 


CLOVER  THE  BEST  FERTILIZER.  47$ 

Second,  wheat.  I  plow  the  ground  as  early  in  the  Fall  a» 
possible  after  the  flax  crop  is  removed,  and  then  before  freezing, 
I  harrow  the  ground  thoroughly,  and  sow  about  one  and  a 
half  bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre,  as  early  in  the  Spring  as  the 
frost  is  out  sufficiently  to  allow  the  working  of  the  seeder  and 
the  harrow. 

OATS. 

Plow  the  wheat  stubble  in  the  Fall,  the  earlier  the  better, 
and  sow  oats,  two  bushels  on  an  acre,  as  early  in  the  Spring  as 
possible. 

CORN. 

I  plow  deep,  in  the  Fall,  or  if  left  until  Spring,  I  do  not 
plow  quite  so  deep.  When  my  corn  is  harvested  the  ground  is 
ready  for  another  flax  crop.  If  I  can  have  manure,  I  cover 
with  a  good  coat  before  planting  to  corn. 

This  rotation  brings  me  around  to  the  corn.  I  follow  this 
course  for  a  series  of  years  on  my  soil,  but  if  I  do  not  have 
manure,  I  do  not  sow  with  the  flax,  but  seed  with  red  clover, 
letting  it  remain  for  two  seasons  and  then  plow  under  and  put 
on  corn. 

Clover  is  the  best  fertilizer.  I  sowed  a  field  with 
it,  about  five  quarts  to  the  acre,  in  1875,  and  I  never  saw 
a  better  growth  in  the  Eastern  States  than  it  made.  It  was 
mowed  and  pastured  three  years.  I  found  that  where  the 
second  crop  was  cut  late  in  the  Fall,  the  roots  were  to  some 
extent  killed  by  freezing;  but  where  the  crop  was  not  pas- 
tured off  too  closely,  it  stood  the  cold  Winters  very  well. 
I  sold  the  land  to  my  brother,  and  in  the  Spring  of  1879,  he 
plowed  this  clover  sod,  about  the  first  of  May,  and  planted  it, 
with  other  land,  on  the  fifteenth  of  May,  with  corn.  The 
land  was  all  cultivated  alike  during  the  season,  and  when 
husked  in  November,  the  corn  on  the  clover  land  yielded  fully 
fifteen  bushels  (seventy  pounds  of  ears)  more  than  the  other 
part  of  his  field,  where  other  crops  had  been  raised  for  several 
years  preceding.  The  yield  on  the  clover  ground  was  seventy- 
four  bushels  to  the  acre.  His  whole  crop  on  the  ninety-seven 


474  BUENA  VISTA  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

acres  averaged  fifty-three  bushels  to  the  acre,  allowing  seventy 
pounds  to  the  bushel  in  the  ear. 

WHEAT. 

In  the  year  1874,  I  sowed  forty  acres  of  wheat,  on  land 
that  had  been  in  with  wheat,  oats  and  flax,  the  previous  year. 
I  sowed  about  thirteen  acres  of  each.  The  ground  after  wheat, 
oats  and  flax  were  harvested,  was  plowed  early  in  the  Fall, 
across  the  land,  where  each  crop  had  been  raised,  and  all  sown 
in  Spring  in  two  days,  so  that  my  ground  was  all  farmed  alike 
and  together. 

I  sowed  a  bushel  and  a  half  of  wheat  on  an  acre.  When 
harvested  the  wheat  grown  on  the  flax  stubble  was  considera- 
bly larger  in  its  growth  than  on  either  the  oat  stubble,  or  the 
wheat  stubble,  and  of  a  much  brighter  color. 

I  cut  my  wheat  with  a  self-raking  reaper,  and  when  going 
so  as  to  cross  the  plats  that  had  been  sown  with  wheat,  oats, 
and  flax,  I  found  the  rake  would  bring  off  a  larger  sheaf  as 
soon  as  the  machine  entered  the  flax  ground,  and  the  binders 
decided  that  there  was  one-fifth  more  wheat  on  this  than  on 
either  of  the  other  plats,  where  wheat  and  oats  had  been  raised 
the  previous  year.  The  kernel  of  wheat  on  flax  ground  was 
also  brighter  and  plumper  than  on  the  other  land.  I  am  well 
satisfied  that  it  yielded  from  three  to  five  bushels  more  to  the 
acre  than  on  the  other  land.  The  crop  on  the  wheat  and  oat 
stubble  appeared  to  be  about  alike.  Since  that  season  I  have 
never  seen  a  piece  of  wheat  sown  on  flax  ground  which  was  not 
a  fair  crop,  and  always  free  from  rust  and  blight,  while  wheat 
sown  on  corn  stalk  ground,  in  this  part  of  Iowa,  is  almost  every 
season  more  or  less  rusted  and  blighted. 

FLAX. 

I  would  not  recommend  flax  as  a  general  crop,  for  the 
reason  that  it  seems  to  exhaust  the  strength  of  the  soil  more 
than  other  crops,  but  whenever  I  do  raise  it,  I  shall  follow 
with  a  wheat  crop.  I  find  also,  that  corn,  when  it  follows 
flax,  will  not  make  near  as  fine  a  crop  as  on  land  where  some 


PASTURE  LAND.  475 

other  crop  precedes  it.     Almost  invariably,  I  have  better  corn 
crops  after  oats  than  after  any  other  small  grain. 

I  would  never  plant  corn  on  flax  stubble  ground,  in  any 
case,  without  manure,  and  I  would  never  sow  wheat  on  corn 
stalk  ground,  expecting  a  good  crop. 


SAMUEL  REED, 

ALGONA,   KOSSUTH    COUNTY. 

Corn  —  Farming  Implements  —  Cattle  —  Hogs —  Fruit. 

Kossuth  is  the  largest  county  in  the  State  of  Iowa.  Algona, 
the  county-seat,  is  situated  in  the  southern  part  of  the  county 
on  the  bank  of  the  Des  Moines  river,  which  runs  nearly  through 
the  center  north  and  south,  with  smaller  tributaries.  These 
streams  afford  an  abundance  of  good  water  for  stock,  and  have 
belts  of  timber  on  one  side  or  the  other,  although  the  heaviest 
body  of  timber  is  found  along  the  entire  length  of  the  main 
river. 

My  farm  contains  about  two  hundred  acres  of  what  might 
be  called  level  land,  although  it  has  fall  enough  to  drain  most 
of  the  tillable  land.  In  the  northwest  corner  I  have  a  forty 
acre  lot  of  pasture  land,  set  in  Kentucky  blue  grass  and  red 
top.  This  I  use  for  early  and  late  grazing.  The  prairie  affords 
good  range  for  our  stock,  so  that  I  have  but  little  use  for  tame 
grass.  In  the  southeast  corner  I  have  a  thirty  acre  pasture.  I 
use  eight  acres  of  the  western  portion  for  colts  and  calves. 
This  meadow  has  been  used  for  ten  or  twelve  years  without 
plowing  up.  I  put  well  rotted  manure  on  it  every  few  years, 
harrowing  it  well  just  as  the  frost  is  going  out  of  the  ground. 
That  makes  it  take  a  new  start  to  grow,  and  the  seed  that  falls 
off  makes  it  abundantly  thick  for  grazing  purposes.  This 
pasture  is  set  in  timothy  and  red  top  mixed.  The  eastern  por- 
tion I  use  for  hogs.  This  part  is  sown  in  timothy  and  red  clover 


476  KOSSUTH   COUNTY,  IOWA. 

mixed.  Every  few  years  I  plow  up  this  pasture  and  seed  it 
down  again  as  at  first,  as  pasture  that  is  used  for  hogs  will  soon, 
run  out.  The  first  year  after  seeding  it  should  not  be  grazed. 
The  remainder  of  my  farm  I  devote  to  raising  corn,, 
although  a  portion  is  used  for  wheat  and  oats — just  enough 
for  domestic  use.  "  Corn  is  King."  I  have  found  that  it  pays 
better  to  feed  it  to  cattle  and  hogs,  than  to  sell  it  by  the  bushel. 
By  this  method  I  can  sell  the  entire  crop  including  the  growth 
of  cattle  and  hogs,  thus  ending  any  further  trouble. 

CORN. 

In  raising  corn  the  more  manure,  the  better.  This  I  put 
on  land  immediately  after  small  grain  is  cut.  Then  I  turn 
under  stubble  and  manure,  the  deeper  the  better.  The  Spring 
following  I  stir  again  lightly.  Then  I  mark,  harrow,  and  plant 
about  the  tenth  of  May.  I  follow  at  once  with  a  harrow.  I 
keep  it  going  till  the  corn  comes  up.  As  soon  as  the  rows  can 
be  followed  with  a  team,  I  begin  to  plow  with  a  two-horse 
sulky  plow ;  the  first  time  going  through  I  do  not  let  the 
shovels  run  in  very  deep.  I  use  shields  on  next  to  the  corn, 
while  it  is  small,  each  time  going  through  setting  the 
plow  a  little  deeper.  The  second  or  third  time  going  through 
I  take  off  the  shields  and  turn  the  dirt  up  snugly  to  the  corn. 
I  plow  till  the  sixth  or  eighth  of  July.  The  corn  stalks  I  break 
down  after  the  cattle  have  eaten  all  the  blades  and  husks. 
This  I  do  by  dragging  a  log  over  them  in  cold  weather,  which 
makes  it  good  for  plowing.  Now  it  is  ready  for  harrowing, 
marking  and  planting,  the  same  as  was  done  with  stubble  land. 
I  seldom  put  corn  on  the  same  land  two  years  in  succession,  as 
changing  it  gives  a  better  chance  to  put  on  manure.  By  this 
method  I  have  never  failed  to  get  a  good  crop. 

FARM  IMPLEMENTS. 

I  use  the  Norwegian  plow  for  stirring  my  land  and  the 
double-wing  Scotch  drag  for  harrowing.  I  find  the  two-horse 
Sulky  Dexter  plow  excellent  for  cultivating  corn,  and  the. 
Union  corn  planter  for  planting ;  also  the  Van  Brunt  seeder 


COST  OF  RAISING  GRAIN  — HOGS. 


477 


for  sowing  all  kinds  of  grain,  and  the  Walter  A.  Wood's  com- 
bined reaper  and  mower. 


COST  OF  RAISING   GRAIN. 


My  wheat  crop  in  1879  cost  me  69  cents  per  bushel. 
My  corn  crop  in  1879  cost  me  15  cents  per  bushel. 
My  oat  crop  in  1879  cost  me  13  cents  per  bushel. 


CATTLE. 

The  best  cattle  I  have  for  beef  are  the  Short-Horns.  Many 
of  them  are  fine  cows  for  milk.  My  milk  cows  consist  mostly 
of  grades  and  Short-Horns.  I  find  them  almost  universally 
better  milkers  than  the  native  cows. 

HOGS. 

• 
The  Berkshire  and  Poland  China  hogs  are  the  best  for 

early  marketing.  Raising  hogs  is  a  branch  of  stock  growing 
which  can  be  done  very  easily,  when  well  understood.  The 
first  thing  to  do  is  to  have  a  good  dry  house  for  the  sows 
and  little  pigs  while  they  are  sucking,  made  on  the  plan  of  the 
following  or  some  such  diagram. 


M 


M 


M 


fl 


n 


M 


M 


n 


8x8   . 

8x8 

8x8 

8x8 

8x8 

8x8 

8x8 

8x8 

1            2 

3 

u          u          u          u          u 

1 — Feed  room.    2 — Steaming  feed  room.    3 — Well  room. 

This  house  should  be  inclosed  with  a  yard,  to  prevent  the 
sows  traveling  off  too  far  while  the  pigs  are  young.  In  breed- 
Ing,  to  have  success  with  pigs,  they  should  come  about  the  first 
of  April.  A  short  time  before  sows  have  their  pigs,  I  feed 


478  KOSSUTH  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

them  on  a  slop  made  of  roots,  meal,  corn,  bran,  etc.     I  also 
feed  salt,  charcoal,  sulphur,  ashes  and  saltpeter. 

FEEDING. 

In  feeding  the  sows  on  such  feed,  the  little  pigs  soon  learn 
to  eat.  Then  I  make  a  low  flat  trough  to  feed  them  milk, 
boiled  meal,  etc.  I  continue  this  kind  of  feed  till  they  can  eat 
corn,  after  which  I  give  them  boiled  corn,  barley,  oats,  meal, 
roots,  or  any  thing  else  that  they  will  eat.  This  kind  of  feed 
is  kept  up  for  two  months,  and  then  I  take  away  the  sows. 
The  sows  I  put  in  a  pasture  and  feed  dry  corn,  water,  etc. 
The  pigs  remain  in  the  yard  till  they  are  about  three  months 
old.  They  are  then  put  in  a  pasture  and  fed  as  before.  My 
theory  is,  that  a  hog  that  does  not  eat  much  will  not  amount  to 
much.  Feeding  strong  while  pigs  are  young  will  expand  the 
stomach  and  increase  the  size  of  the  hog.  I  continue  this  feed 
till  green  corn  is  big  enough  to  cut  up.  Stowell's  Evergreen 
corn  I  believe  to  be  the  best  for  early  feeding.  Stock  hogs 
while  in  pasture,  should  have  a  house  to  sleep  in  at  leisure,  as 
in  the  diagram.  They  remain  in  pasture  till  green  feed  fails, 
when  I  take  them  out  and  put  them  in  a  close,  warm  place  and 
feed  them  on  corn  till  ready  for  market. 

FRUIT. 

My  first  efforts  were  a  partial  failure.  The  first  lot,  I 
ordered  from  the  South,  and  it  proved  to  be  too  tender  for 
the  climate,  and  could  not  stand  the  cold  Winters.  The  second 
I  ordered  from  the  North.  With  a  few  exceptions,  these 
proved  to  be  hardy.  The  third  lot  were  from  a  nursery  near 
home  ;  they  proved  to  be  equally  hardy.  In  the  two  last  lots, 
many  of  them  were  of  the  same  varieties  that  I  purchased  in 
the  first  lot,  and  which  had  proved  so  tender. 

APPLES. 

I  have  raised  nineteen  kinds  of  apples  this  year.  Most  of 
them  seem  hardy  and  have  stood  the  test  from  ten  to  fifteen 
years.  My  method  for  raising  apples  for  home  consumption  is 
as  follows :  first  I  select  good  dry  laud,  and  then  put  it  in  a 


PLAN   OF  BARN. 


479 


H 

I 
I 

Side  -view  18X42 
Upper  Story 

1  1 

it 

XV\ 


-i 1- 


Side  wing  for  Farming 
luiplements  14X42 

Corn  Crib 
8X14 

> 

g 

^  1 

Bit 

to 

^ 

CO 

§ 

03 

5 

Oat  Bin 

8X14 

2 

S 

Wheat  Bia 

8x14 

- 

vy     w 

aV 

?g^ 

°°|s 

480  PAGE  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

good  state  of  cultivation  for  planting.  I  set  the  trees  in  rows 
twenty  feet  apart  each  way.  I  dig  the  holes  large  and  deep, 
filling  up  with  rich  surface  soil,  to  about  twelve  inches  of  the 
top.  I  then  place  the  tree,  straighten  out  all  the  roots,  and 
pour  on  half  a  pail  of  water,  then  fill  in  with  good  soil,  press- 
ing it  lightly  about  the  plant.  I  mulch  with  straw  or  manure, 
to  prevent  the  sun's  drying  the  roots.  I  prefer  trees  that  are 
three  years  old  to  plant,  when  I  can  get  them.  I  let  the 
branches  start  out  about  three  feet  from  the  ground.  I  do  but 
very  little  trimming  with  a  pruning  knife,  as  heavy  pruning 
causes  black  heart  or  dead  wood  in  the  tree.  All  sprouts  that 
are  starting  where  I  do  not  want  them,  I  remove  by  rubbing 
while  the  bud  is  small ;  the  wound  will  heal  in  a  short  time.  In 
the  Spring  I  wash  the  bodies  of  the  young  trees  with  lime- 
water  or  strong  soapsuds,  to  prevent  insects  from  breeding  in 
the  bark.  At  the  same  time,  I  keep  the  land  well  cultivated 
between  the  trees,  until  they  are  old  enough  to  bear,  then  seed 
it  down,  and  keep  it  well  mowed.  This  should  be  well  fenced, 
to  prevent  stock  from  injuring  young  trees. 


W.  H.  WIDNEY, 

CLARINDA,    PAGE   COUXTY. 

Location  —  Description  —  Horses  —  Cattle  —  Hogs  —  Plans  — 

Hedges. 

MAPLE   GROVE   STOCK  FARM. 

Page  county  is  in  the  southern  tier  of  counties,  and  the 
furthest  west  save  one.  The  surface  of  the  county  is  undulat- 
ing, and  it  is  so  well  supplied  with  natural  drainage,  that  but 
little  swamp  or  marshy  land,  is  found  here.  The  land  is  very 
productive,  and  withstands  the  two  extremes  of  wet  or 
drouth  well.  The  climate  is  very  healthy  and  mild.  It 
seldom  rains  in  Winter,  and  the  atmosphere  is  dry.  There  is 
excellent  surface  water  for  stock  on  almost  every  quarter 
section.  We  have  fine  church  and  school  facilities,  and  rail- 


PESCRIPTION  OF  FARM.  481 

roads  are  plenty.  The  Chicago,  Burlington  &  Quincy  road  has 
two  branches  from  its  main  line  across  the  county.  One  from 
Villisca,  on  their  main  line,  down  the  Nodaway  river  to  Bur- 
lington Junction,  on  the  St.  Louis  &  Council  Bluffs  railroad, 
with  stations  at  Hepbury,  Clarinda,  Stickley's  Mills,  and 
Braddyville.  Another  branch  runs  from  Red  Oak,  through 
Essex  and  Shenandoah  to  Hamburg.  The  St.  Louis  &  Council 
Bluffs  railroad,  also  runs  through  the  towns  of  Blanchard, 
Bingham  and  Shenandoah,  all  in  this  county,  so  we  are  well 
supplied,  having  nine  railroad  stations  giving  us  an  outlet  to 
Chicago  and  St.  Louis. 

The  St.  Louis  &  Council  Bluffs  road  is  just  finishing  a 
branch  from  its  main  line  near  Burlington  Junction,  in  Mis- 
souri, up  the  Nodaway  to  Clarinda,  with  two  stations 
besides  Clarinda  in  the  county,  which  will  make  eleven  stations. 
Here  is  a  good  chance  for  those  seeking  cheap  and  pleasant 
homes,  as  there  is  plenty  of  good  timber,  and  abundance  of 
bituminous  coal  in  the  east  part  of  the  county.  So  much  for 
the  county.  Now  for  the  farm. 

DESCRIPTION. 

Maple  Grove  is  devoted  to  both  stock  and  grain  raising. 
I  have  nearly  one  hundred  acres  in  cultivation,  and  the  re- 
mainder in  tame  and  wild  grass,  which  are  used  for  pasture 
and  hay.  My  hog  pasture  contains  eight  acres,  with  a  three 
acre  artichoke  patch  adjoining.  This  I  consider  a  great  benefit 
to  my  hogs.  My  farm  has  an  Osage  hedge  all  around  it,  most 
of  which  is  large  enough  to  turn  stock.  The  north  eight  acres 
have  hedge  across,  cutting  the  land  in  two  in  the  middle. 
There  is  a  twenty-five  acre  pasture  in  the  southeast  forty,  with 
a  fine  ditch  spring,  which  affords  water  sufficient  for  five 
hundred  head  of  stock.  I  have  a  fine  spring  in  the  northwest 
forty,  that  furnishes  water  for  one  or  two  hundred  head  of 
stock. 

The  orchard  is  situated  in  the  southwest  corner  of  the 
southwest  forty  acres,  and  consists  of  five  and  one-half  acres, 
with  two  hundred  and  fifty-one  trees  just  coming  into  bearing. 
31 


482 


PAGE  COUNTY,  IOWA. 


The  orchard  has  four  rows  of  maples  on  the  north  and  west, 
and  three  rows  on  the  south  and  east.  There  are  besides, 
rows  of  soft  maples  on  the  north,  east,  south  and  west  of  the 
feed  lots,  which  with  the  buildings  afford  protection  from  the 
winds  in  Winter,  and  shade  in  Summer.  The  southwest  forty 
acres  have  the  buildings,  feed  lots,  the  orchard,  a  field  of 
twelve  acres  north  of  the  orchard,  and  the  hog  pasture,  also 
a  lane,  twenty  feet  wide,  crossing  it  to  the  north  eighty  acres. 

PLAN  OP    THE  FARM. 


$ 
Spring. 


3  Acres  Tame  Grass ;  2  of  Slough ; 
remainder  Farm. 


Half  Farm  and  half 

Wild  Grass  for 

Hay. 


10 


Spring. 
9 


n 


O — Stock  well.  1 — House  and  yard.  2,  3 — Feed  yards.  4 — Hog  house. 
5 — Stable,  granary  and  crib.  6 — Orchard.  7— Hog  pasture.  8— Artichokes. 
9— 12-acre  field.  10— 20-acre  field.  11—25  acre  pasture.  12— Lane. 

HOGS. 

I  breed  the  Poland  China  hogs,  of  which  I  have  a  large 
number  of  very  fine  ones.  I  breed  from  twenty  to  twenty-five 
BOWS  each  year,  which  raise  me  from  eighty  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty  pigs  yearly.  My  sows  farrow  in  April,  May,  and 
June.  As  soon  as  my  young  pigs  will  eat  it,  I  feed  them  on 
shelled  corn,  soaked  until  it  is  almost  ready  to  sprout.  I  give 


HOG  RAISING. 


them  all  they  will  eat  of  it.  I  also  feed  swill  made  from  the 
dish-water,  and  milk  thickened  with  oats,  rye,  and  corn,  all 
ground  together.  I  wean  the  young  pigs  at  two  months  old, 
and  fatten  the  sows  for  market,  with  the  exception  of  those  I 
keep  over  for  breeding  purposes.  Nearly  all  the  male  pigs  are 
castrated  at  about  two  months  old ;  a  few  of  the  very  bes.t, 
however,  are  saved  for  sale  as  breeders.  All  that  are  not  sold 
or  kept  for  breeders  are  put  on  the  market  at  ten  or  eleven  and 
one-half  months  old,  when  they  will  weigh  from  two  hundred 
and  fifty  to  three  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  gross.  I  sell  my 
brood  sows  that  are  fattened,  in  December.  I  get  male  pigs 
each  year  from  the  best  breeders  of  this  stock.  I  think  the 
Poland  China  is  the  best  breed  of  hogs  for  this  country.  I 
might  add  that  while  the  sows  are  suckling  their  pigs,  they  are 
fed  all  the  best  swill  I  can  make  for  them,  believing  that  a  good 
start  is  of  great  importance  in  raising  good  hogs,  as  well  as 
other  stock.  I  am  surprised  that  so  many  farmers  take  so  little 
interest  in  the  improvement  of  their  stock.  Men  who  show 
judgment  in  most  other  matters,  frequently  show  the  poorest 
kind  of  judgment  in  this. 

I  have  been  breeding  the  Poland  China  for  fifteen  years  in 
this  State,  and  while  I  have  never  exhibited  at  our  State  Fairs,, 
I  have  taken  many  premiums  and  sweepstakes  at  other  fairs. 
My  hog  house  is  twenty  by  forty  feet,  with  a  four  feet  feeding 
alley  and  eight  breeding,  and  four  fattening  pens. 

HOG  HOUSE. 


6x8 


6x8 


6x8 


8  feet  square. 


8  feet  square 


Feeding  alley,  4  feet  wide. 


6x8 

6x8 

6x8 

6x8 

8  feet  square. 

8  feet  square. 

This  is  a  ground  plan  of  the  hog  house.     I  can  put  in 


481  CALHOUN  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

twelve  sows  at  once,  in  separate  pens,  to  have  pigs,  and  if 
need  be  can  fix  the  feeding  room  to  hold  half  a  dozen  more 
small  ones.  My  hog  house  is  only  two  feet  high  at  the  eaves. 
It  is  all  covered  over,  but  the  pens  have  no  floor.  I  prefer  the 
bare  ground.  The  hog  house  stands  in  the  corner  of  the  pas- 
ture, so  that  I  can  let  each  sow  out  on  grass  a  couple  of  hours 
each  day. 

HORSES. 

My  horses  are  of  mixed  breeds,  some  of  them  Normans, 
having  a  cross  of  Hambletonian.  This  cross  has  given  me 
some  very  fine  colts. 

CATTLE. 

The  cattle  are  grade,  or  what  is  generally  called  full-blood 
Durham.  They  are  bred  for  milk,  butter,  and  beef. 

HEDGES. 

I  have  about  four  miles  of  Osage  hedge  on  the  farm,  most 
of  which  will  turn  stock,  and  am  getting  it  plashed  down  as 
fast  as  it  is  large  enough  to  plash,  so  that  it  will  turn  hogs. 
As  soon  as  our  hedges  will  turn  them,  I  intend  to  try  sheep, 
believing  this  country  is  well  adapted  to  that  branch  of  stock 
raising.  If  sheep  are  properly  managed,  and  are  selected  from 
the  right  breeds,  they  will  pay  as  well,  if  not  better,  than  any 
other  kind  of  stock. 


W.  H.  FITCH, 

JACKSON,  CALHOUN  COUNTY. 

Description  of  Farm  —  Stock  —  Cattle  —  Hogs. 

This  farm  is  located  in  Jackson  Township,  Calhoun 
county,  Iowa,  and  comprises  three  hundred  and  ninety-five 
acres ;  it  is  devoted  to  the  dairy  and  stock  raising.  The  soil  is 
a  black  loam,  peculiarly  adapted  to  corn  and  grass  growing.  One 
hundred  and  twenty  acres  are  in  grass,  which  serves  as  pasture 
for  the  dairy.  As  yet,  none  is  in  meadow,  owing  to  our 


STOCK  — HOGS.  485 

- 

close  proximity  to  the  prairie,  which  furnishes  an  ample  quan- 
tity of  good  hay  for  feeding  all  the  stock  kept  on  the  farm,  and 
also  affords  pasture  for  the  young  stock  during  the  Summer. 
From  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  acres  are  usually 
planted  in  corn  on  my  farm,  and  on  some  smaller  lots  not  adjoin- 
ing ;  the  remainder  are  planted  with  oats,  as  we  raise  but  a 
small  quantity  of  wheat.  I  feed  all  the  grain  to  my  stock,  and 
although  I  have  lived  here  twelve  years,  I  have  never  hauled 
a  load  of  corn  to  the  railroad.  The  farm  is  watered  by  wells 
and  wind-mill  power ;  there  is  a  fine  spring,  too,  which,  with 
Lake  creek,  provides  good  facilities  for  watering  the  stock ;  the 
same  power  that  pumps  the  water  grinds  the  feed  used  on  the 
farm. 

STOCK. 

My  stock  at  present  consists  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  head 
of  cattle,  fifteen  horses  and  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  hogs. 

A  dairy  of  fifty  cows  form  the  nucleus  for  the  stock  oper- 
ations, and  with  an  ice  house,  milk-room  and  the  Cooley 
creamer,  I  have  all  the  appliances  necessary  for  making  an 
article  of  butter  that  will  command  a  good  price,  and  is  con- 
tracted for  by  the  year,  in  advance.  In  ordinary  seasons  the 
cows  pay  for  themselves  each  year.  My  stock  are  grade 

SHORT-HORNS, 

with  a  small  herd  of  thorough-breds.  Each  year  I  feed  and 
turn  off  two  car  loads  of  grade  Short-Horn  steers. 

Stabling  is  supplied  for  sixty  head  of  cattle.  The  dairy 
cows  are  all  stabled  during  the  Winter,  and  receive  a  daily 
allowance  of  good  hay  or  mowed  oats,  and  two  quarts  of  corn 
meal,  and  two  quarts  of  oats.  No  stock  is  raised  save  from 
thorough-bred  sires,  consequently  they  continually  improve. 

My  plan  is  to  herd  the  young  stock  on  the  prairie  in  Sum- 
mer, and  turn  them  into  the  stalk  fields  and  on  prairie  hay  in 
the  Winter,  until  February  or  March,  at  which  time  the  steers 
are  put  upon  one-half  or  two-thirds  feed  of  corn  until  grass 
comes. 

HOGS. 

I  grow  the  Poland  China  hogs,  raised  by  the  dairy  and 


486  CHEROKEE  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

finished  up  in  the  Winter  by  following  the  steers  that  I  feed 
every  Winter  on  the  farm.  My  experience  has  been  that  pigs 
that  follow  the  cattle  all  Winter,  and  are  fed  for  the  June  mar- 
ket, average  better  hogs  at  twelve  months,  than  they  would 
ordinarily  at  a  year  and  a  half  old.  All  hogs  are  raised  on  grass 
in  its  season. 

BARNS. 

One  of  my  barns  is  thirty-eight  by  forty-eight,  with  stabling 
on  three  sides ;  the  two  other  barns  are  built  in  the  form  of  an  ell, 
one  being  twenty-four  by  thirty-six  feet,  the  other  twenty-four 
by  forty-eight.  The  smaller  barn  is  used  exclusively  for  stabling 
below ;  the  other  contains  a  corn  crib  seventy-two  feet  long, 
with  a  meal  room  to  hold  feed  for  two  stables.  Sheds  are  pro- 
vided for  all  stock  not  stabled,  and  in  Summer  time  a  portion 
of  this  stabling  is  used  for  sows  in  farrowing  time,  and  also  for 
shelter. 

I  commenced  operations  on  this  farm  twelve  years  ago, 
and  like  all  settlers  in  a  new  country  began  with  limited  means. 
I  therefore  make  no  pretensions  to  being  a  model  farmer. 


GEORGE  W.  BANISTER, 

CHEROKEE,   CHEROKEE   COUNTY. 

Historical —  Descriptive  —  Improvements  —  Methods — Stock  — 

Grain. 

HISTORICAL. 

I  came  into  the  Sioux  Valley  in  the  Spring  of  1856.  I 
was  then  a  young  man.  I  preempted  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres,  married  in  the  Fall,  and  lived  through  one  of  the  severest 
Winters  ever  known  in  this  part  of  the  country,  in  a  log  cabin 
with  fire-place  at  one  side  and  a  snow-bank  at  the  other.  Pro- 
visions were  scarce  and  high,  and  during  the  Winter  the  Indians 
killed  one  of  my  oxen.  I  fenced  about  twenty  acres,  and  had 
it  under  cultivation,  but  in  1861  I  rented  and  went  to  Colorado, 
returning  in  the  Fall.  In  the  Fall  of  1862,  came  the  news  of 


DESCRIPTION  OF  FARM.  487 

the  Indian  outbreak  in  Minnesota,  and  I  learned  that  people 
were  being  killed  within  sixty  miles  of  us.  I  took  my  family 
and  left  our  home  on  the  25th  of  August,  and  traveled  forty 
miles  to  Smithland,  where  I  left  them  and  enlisted  in  the 
6th  Iowa  cavalry.  I  served  on  the  frontier  until  October,  1865. 
I  remained  in  Sioux  City  until  Spring,  then  returned  to  my 
farm.  Becoming  dissatisfied,  I  bought  a  mill  near  Cherokee, 
and  ran  it  for  a  few  years,  then  received  back  the  farm,  since 
which  time  I  have  labored  hard  to  make  it  successful. 

DESCRIPTION  OF  FARM.  . 

This  farm  consists  of  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres, 
about  one-half  of  which  is  under  cultivation.  It  lies  in  the 
Little  Sioux  Valley,  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  and  is  a  mile 
and  a  quarter  in  length,  the  south  half  being  a  square,  and  the 
north  half  an  ell.  The  south  half  comprises  nearly  all  the 
farm  land  and  slopes  gradually  to  the  east,  skirting  the  bluff 
on  the  west,  thus  being  mostly  on  the  river  bottom,  and  above 
high  water.  The  valley  road  runs  along  near  the  west  line  the 
whole  distance  of  the  farm,  while  near  the  center  a  road  ap- 
proaches from  the  west.  The  house  stands  on  the  north  half 
near  the  middle  of  the  farm  north  and  south.  Just  north  of 
this  is  a  small  creek  skirted  with  high  banks,  affording  the  best 
of  shelter  for  stock,  and  good  spring  water  at  all  times  of  the 
year.  This  stream  is  fringed  with  a  fine  little  grove  of  burr- 
oaks,  that  have  mostly  grown  up  in  the  last  ten  years,  and  are 
now  about  fifteen  feet  high.  Crossing  this  stream  on  a  bridge, 
and  then  passing  a  plum  thicket  we  soon  come  to  the  north 
eighty  acres,  which  lie  east  and  west,  extending  across  the 
river.  A  portion  of  this  tract  near  the  road  is  in  cultivation, 
and  the  rest  next  the  river  is  in  excellent  grass  land ;  sometimes, 
however,  it  is  subject  to  floods.  A  small  body  of  timber  skirts 
the  river,  and  just  below  this,  inside  of  a  bayou,  is  a  fine  grove 
of  ten  acres.  Between  this  grove  and  the  creek  lies  a  field, 
part  of  which  has  been  planted  in  maple  trees,  the  rest  being 
designed  for  an  orchard. 

My  land  is  dry,  rolling  prairie,  with  abundance  of  springs 


488  CHEROKEE   COUNTY,  IOWA. 

and  streams  of  the  purest  water.  It  lias  the  peculiarity  of  pro- 
ducing good  crops  with  little  rain.  We  seldom  have  too  much 
rain,  and  yet  in  a  few  hours  after  a  heavy  shower  our  ground 
can  be  cultivated.  This  is  due  to  the  looseness  of  the  soil. 
This  season  we  have  had  but  a  small  amount  of  rain,  and  yet 
crops  have  done  well.  I  consider  the  whole  Missouri  slope  the 
best  part  of  Iowa  for  farming,  but  scarcity  of  timber  is  a 
drawback.  A  great  deal  of  timber  has  been  planted  within 
the  past  few  years.  The  magnetic  well  at  Cherokee  is  attract- 
ing much  attention.  The  water  flows  in  a  continuous  stream, 
from  a  depth  of  two  hundred  feet.  A  piece  of  steel,  placed  in 
the  water,  soon  becomes  magnetized. 

IMPROVEMENTS. 

My  house  is  a  story  and  a  half  high,  the  main  building  being 
sixteen  by  twenty,  with  an  ell  on  the  south  side.  A  fence  en- 
closes the  house,  and  a  small  orchard  and  garden  lie  south  and 
west,  while  on  the  east  is  a  wood  yard,  enclosing  corn  cribs, 
granary,  and  sheds  for  machinery.  Just  north  of  these  still 
stands  the  old  log  cabin  built  by  me  in  1856.  A  lane  extends 
from  the  road  to  this  yard  north  of  the  house ;  north  of  this 
lane  is  a  hog  lot,  consisting  of  three  acres,  extending  across  the 
creek  and  enclosing  a  grove  of  oaks.  East  of  the  house  and 
across  the  wood  lot  is  a  banked  stable  and  small  .cattle  yard, 
opening  on  the  east  into  a  pasture  that  extends  east  and  south 
to  the  river.  The  orchard  contains  several  Siberian  apple  trees 
in  bearing.  There  are  few  farms  enclosed  in  this  county ;  part 
of  mine  is  left  unenclosed.  Stock  here  is  herded  or  kept  in 
pastures.  South  of  my  house  was  a  piece  of  about  four  acres 
that  I  sowed  in  timothy,  but  when  the  grasshoppers  visited  us 
in  1876,  they  sowed  it  so  full  of  eggs,  that  I  spread  straw  and 
burned  it  to  kill  them ;  afterwards  I  plowed  it  up. 

METHOD  OF  FARMING. 

The  system  which  I  pursue  is  to  have  a  rotation  of  corn, 
wheat,  and  oats  or  barley.  The  ground  intended  for  corn  is 
usually  plowed  in  the  Spring,  while  stubble  which  I  intend  for 
oats  or  other  crops  is  plowed  in  the  Fall.  The  wheat  sown  in 


COST  OF  RAISING  STOCK.  489 

stalk  ground  I  plow  in  with  a   cultivator.     I  plant  corn  as 
usual,  by  hand  or  horse  planter. 

STOCK. 

Since  1873  I  have  turned  my  attention  to  raising  stock 
more  than  formerly.  In  the  Spring  of  that  year  I  had  two 
good  mares  for  a  team  and  two  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  land, 
a  yoke  of  oxen,  three  or  four  cows,  and  some  young  cattle.  In  the 
course  of  the  season  I  lost  both  of  my  mares,  which  left  me  in 
rather  a  bad  shape  for  a  team  ;  but  I  purchased  more,  and  com- 
menced raising  colts.  In  1878  I  had  twelve  head  of  horses, 
and  concluded  to  sell  off  part  of  them.  In  1875  I  had  a  good 
crop  of  corn,  and  in  the  Fall  I  sold  over  twelve  hundred  dol- 
lars' worth  of  hogs.  During  the  season  I  sold  about  three 
hundred  dollars'  worth  more.  That  year  the  grasshoppers  came  in 
the  Fall,  but  as  my  corn  was  planted  early  they  did  not  destroy 
it,  although  it  was  somewhat  injured,  and  I  was  obliged  to 
reduce  my  stock  of  hogs  materially.  I  have  never  raised  as 
many  since.  I  do  not  raise  cattle  as  extensively  as  some  do, 
only  raising  what  I  can  conveniently  take  care  of  without  herd- 
ing. I  will  sum  up  the  profits  of  cattle-raising  here  : 

1st.     Calf  in  Fall  worth  $7  00 

2d.      Yearling,          "  -     15  00 

3d.     Two-year  old,  "  25  00 

4th.   Three-year  "   "      -  -.35  00 
Gain  at  three  over  calf,                                             $28  00 

Cost  of  herding  three  3rears,  -       3  00 

Wintering,      -  17  00 

~$20  00 
Net  profit,  -  $8  00 

COST  OF  RAISING   HOUSES. 

1st.  Yearling  colt,  -                                   $20  00 

2d.  Two-year  old,  -     30  00 

3d.  Three-year  "  -                                     40  00 

4th.  Four-year    "  -            -            -    80  00 


490  CHEROKEE  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

Put  cost  of  stallion  as  part  of  value  of 

colt,  -     $10  00 

Colt  when  foaled,    -  10  00 

Cost  of  herding  three  years,       -  10  00 

Wintering  three  years,  30  00 

$60  00 
Net  profit  over  cost,  twenty  dollars;  besides  one  season's 


HOGS. 

The  cost  of  hog  raising  varies  according  to  the  supply  of  corn 
and  the  price  it  brings.  The  price  of  hogs  here  generally  averages 
two  and  one-half  to  three  dollars  per  hundred  pounds,  and  it  is 
supposed  that  a  person  realizes  about  thirty  cents  per  bushel 
for  corn  fed  to  hogs  when  they  sell  for  three  dollars  per  hun- 
dred. With  good  care  they  are  marketable  at  from  nine  to 
twelve  months  old. 

I  consider  the  Poland  China  hogs  best,  as  they  do  very 
well  for  market  as  early  as  nine  or  ten  months  old,  and  can 
often  be  made  to  weigh  five  hundred  pounds  in  eighteen 
months.  A  large  proportion  of  the  hogs  in  this  section  are 
shipped  alive  to  Chicago. 

Sheep  have  not  been  raised  on  this  farm  as  yet,  as  the 
industry  would  not  pay  unless  with  a  large  flock,  which 
wonld  have  to  be  herded  on  the  prairie,  on  account  of  the  lack 

of  fences. 

GRAIN. 

In  1875  I  raised  from  one  hundred  acres,  fifteen  hundred 
bushels  of  wheat,  worth  $1,200. 

Cost  of  Seed,    -  -      $120  00 

"       Plowing,  -  -    100  00 

"       Seeding,  25  00 

"       Harrowing,       -  -      25  00 

"      Harvesting,  at  $2.00  per  acre,     200  00 
"       Stacking,       -  60  00 

"       Threshing,  at  10  cents  per  bu.,     150  00 
"       Marketing,  -      50  00 

Total,    ......      $730  00 


PROFITS  OF  GRAIN.  491 

Profit,  $470,  from  which  should  be  deducted  rent,  interest, 
and  taxes,  $470,  leaving  the  net  profit,  0.  The  next  year,  1876, 
the  cost  was  nearly  the  same,  while  in  1877  the  crop  was  eaten 
up  by  grasshoppers.  I  endeavored  to  save  it  with  a  hopper- 
catcher,  and  on  that  one  hundred  acres  I  caught  over  twenty 
bushels  of  hoppers,  not  larger  than  a  house  fly,  but  I  finally 
gave  it  up.  In  1878  my  wheat  was  badly  injured,  but  was 
mostly  cut.  In  1879,  I  sowed  on  stalk  ground  about  forty 
acres  of  Fyfe  wheat,  which  blighted  so  badly  that  it  was  not 
cut.  This  wheat  is  an  uncertain  crop  on  stalk  ground  here, 
but  Osaka  does  much  better.  Red  clover  was  tried  on  my 
farm,  but  it  seems  to  Winter-kill.  Timothy  yields  about  two 
tons  to  the  acre,  and  is  worth  five  dollars  per  ton. 

We  have  abundant  pasturage  here  on  the  prairies  at 
present,  and  our  prairie  grass  is  very  nutritious.  There  are 
large  tracts  of  land  lying  uncultivated  in  some  parts  of  the 
county,  on  which  hundreds  of  cattle  are  herded  from  the  1st  of 
May  until  October.  It  costs  from  sixty  cents  to  one  dollar  per 
head  through  the  season  to  herd  them.  Turkeys  do  well  here. 
I  feed  young  turkeys  on  sour  milk  and  hard-boiled  eggs,  until 
they  are  able  to  take  care  of  themselves.  Corn  meal  will  surely 
kill  young  turkeys.  Geese  are  scarce.  Of  chickens,  I  prefer 
the  Brahmas  and  Black  Spanish.  Of  ducks,  I  have  only  the 
Mallard. 


J.  SIDDONS, 

TROY,  DAVIS    COUNTY. 

Profits  Derived  Largely  From  Corn — Rotation  of  Crops  — Grass, 
Shade,  and  Water  Essential  to  Successful  Hog  -  liaising  — 
How  and  When  to  Make  Hay  —  Management  and  Care  of 
Sheep. 

My  farm  is  located  in  Davis  county,  which  is  one  of  the 
southern  tier  of  counties,  and  the  third  west  from  the  Missis- 
sippi river.  It  comprises  five  hundred  acres  of  land,  principally 
prairie,  there  being  about  eighty  acres  of  timbered  land  near 


492  DAVIS  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

the  center,  running  entirely  across  the  farm  from  east  to  west, 
through  the  center  of  which  runs  a  stream  known  as  Hickory- 
creek,  taking  its  name  from  the  large  amount  of  fine  hickory 
trees  growing  on  its  banks.  Owing  to  the  location  of 
the  timber,  my  farm  is  divided  into  two  parts.  My  homestead 
is  located  just  on  the  south  side  of  the  timbered  land,  thus 
affording  a  fine  shelter  in  Winter  from  the  north  and  north- 
west winds,  for  which  this  latitude  is  noted.  It  also  affords 
protection  from  Summer  winds,  which,  in  more  exposed  situa- 
tions, frequently  blow  off  large  quantities  of  apples  of  the 
larger  varieties,  before  maturity,  and  occasion  heavy  loss.  An- 
other advantage  of  these  trees  is,  that  we  have  fuel  in  abund- 
ance, without  drawing  it  from  long  distances,  as  many  farmers 
have  to  do  in  a  prairie  country.  Not  the  least  of  its  advan- 
tages, in  my  opinion,  is  that  it  affords  a  fine  woodland  pas- 
ture in  which  to  raise  hogs.  Other  things  being  equal,  I  think 
grass,  water,  and  shade,  the  three  great  essentials  to  successful 
hog-raising. 

ROTATION  OF    CEOPS. 

My  system  of  farming  (if  system  it  can  be  called)  is 
intended  to  be  what  is  popularly  known  as  mixed  husbandry, 
although  I  expect  the  profits  to  be  derived  largely  from  corn 
and  grass.  The  other  cereals  I  consider  more  in  the  light  of 
aids  in  forming  a  rotation  of  crops,  than  in  the  actual  profits 
arising  from  their  cultivation. 

My  method  has  been  to  have,  as  nearly  as  practicable,  one- 
half  my  cultivated  land  in  grass,  principally  clover.  Some 
portions,  where  the  land  is  rolling,  or  liable  to  wash  away,  I 
keep  in  permanent  pasture,  or  blue  grass.  I  usually  plant 
about  one  hundred  acres  with  corn ;  the  remainder  are  sown  to 
oats,  wheat,  and  rye  ;  and  I  usually  let  a  considerable  amount 
lie  fallow  each  year,  believing  it  more  profitable  to  raise  a  large 
crop  every  second  year  than  to  raise  half  crops  every  year.  I 
seldom  raise  two  crops  of  corn  on  the  same  land  in  succession ; 
never,  excepting  on  very  new  or  fresh  ground.  This  being  a 
corn  and  grass  country,  I  am  satisfied  that  a  larger  profit  can 


ROTATION   OF   CROPS— WHEAT.  493 

be  derived  in  a  decade  of  years  (if  unable  to  adopt  some 
rotation  by  which  at  least  to  get  the  cost  of  cultivation  out 
of  the  small  grains),  by  letting  one-half  the  land  lie  fallow 
each  year,  as  the  increased  crops  and  only  the  half  expense  in 
cultivation  would  more  than  counterbalance  the  trifling  differ- 
ence there  might  be  in  the  yield  in  bushels ;  besides,  there  is 
the  advantage  of  keeping  the  land  in  a  fertile  condition.  I 
refer,  of  course,  more  particularly  to  the  old  and  long  culti- 
vated farms  of  the  county. 

WHEAT. 

My  wheat  is  usually  sown  on  fallow  ground,  and  is  always 
manured,  except  in  the  event  of  the  land  being  new.  The 
principal  cause  of  failure  in  raising  Fall  wheat  with  profit  in 
this  latitude,  is  attributable  to  Winter,  or  more  properly, 
Spring  killing  of  the  plant,  caused  by  the  alternate  freezing 
and  thawing  of  the  ground  in  early  Spring,  and  which  not 
unfrequently  raises  the  wheat  plant  and  its  roots  entirely  above 
the  ground.  My  experience  and  observation  have  convinced 
me  that  such  Winter  killing  may  be  obviated  to  a  considerable 
extent  by  a  liberal  application  of  barn-yard  manure  in  its  green 
or  raw  state.  Many  good  farmers  prefer  to  apply  the  manure 
as  a  top  dressing  after  the  wheat  has  been  sown,  first  having 
the  manure  thoroughly  rotted  ;  but  to  my  mind,  the  latter 
method  is  calculated  to  losp  too  much  that  is  valuable  as 
plant  food  ;  neither  will  it  furnish  as  good  and  efficient  a  mulch 
for  the  young  plant  as  when  applied  in  a  partially  decomposed 
condition.  Observation  has  led  me  to  the  conclusion  at  which 
I  have  arrived  on  this  subject.  A  chemical  analysis,  with  the 
whys  and  wherefores,  I  leave  for  minds  better  versed  in 
botanical  and  chemical  lore  than  mine. 

My  wheat  crops  have  been  fairly  successful,  ranging  from 
twelve  to  twenty-five  bushels  per  acre.  I  do  not  raise  wheat 
extensively,  as  I  think  it  rather  uncertain ;  at  least  too  much 
so  to  depend  on  largely  for  profit.  I  raise  oats,  mainly  because 
they  count  in  my  rotation.  I  usually  have  abundant  crops,  but 
there  generally  comes  a  few  days  about  the  Fourth  of  July  in 


494  DAVIS  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

each  year  (when  oats  are  in  a  soft  or  milky  condition)  when 
the  grain  is  very  soon  ripened,  consequently  is  too  light  to 
be  valuable.  However,  I  have  some  seasons  when  oats  do 
admirably,  and  are  a  very  profitable  crop.  Rye  does  well  with 
me,  and  when  sown  on  land  in  good  till  (and  by  the  way,  it 
should  never  be  sown  elsewhere),  it  is  almost  always  a  sure 
crop. 

GRASS. 

When  I  speak  of  grass  I  feel  that  I  am  at  the  base  of 
all  successful  farming  in  this  or  any  other  country.  I  think 
this  section  takes  second  rank  with  very  few  places  in  the 
Mississippi  Valley  as  a  grass-producing  region.  Perhaps  we 
shall  be  compelled  to  yield  the  palm  to  the  famed  pasture 
fields  of  Kentucky,  as  her  more  Southern  latitude  and  milder 
Winters  give  her  opportunities  to  utilize  her  blue  grass  pas- 
tures that  we  do  not  possess.  As  I  said  at  the  commencement, 
I  aim  to  keep  half  my  land  in  grass,  for  therein  is  found  my 
richest  treasures  and  easiest  made  money.  Besides,  it  is  the 
only  way  in  which  I  can  keep  the  farm  up  to  anything  near  its. 
original  fertility. 

SEEDING  DOWN. 

My  method  of  putting  land  down  to  grass  is  to  plow  it 
over  as  soon  after  harvest  as  practicable,  then  harrow  down  to 
as  smooth  a  surface  as  I  can,  and  sow  the  seed.  If  there  is  a 
probability  of  rain  in  the  near  future,  I  do  nothing  more  ;  if 
likely  to  remain  dry,  I  harrow  once  with  a  light  harrow  or 
brush.  This  is  preferable  to  the  plan  usually  adopted  of  sow- 
ing the  seed  on  stubble  ground  in  Winter  or  Spring,  and  then 
waiting  two  years  for  a  very  poor  crop,  whereas  I  get  two- 
thirds  of  a  full  crop  the  first  year.  While  on  the  subject  of 
making  hay,  I  must  give  you  my  method,  also  the  time  at 
which,  if  possible,  I  always  have  it  cut.  My  plan  I  know  will 
be  found  fault  with  by  large  numbers  of  our  farmers.  I 
always  want  my  grass  cut,  if  it  is  clover,  when  about  one- 
third  of  the  heads  have  turned  brown,  if  in  timothy  when 
the  second  bloom  has  fallen ;  if  both  are  combined  I  cut 
as  near  those  conditions  as  it  is  possible,  to  get  both  kinds  at 


SEEDING  DOWN  — FEEDING.  495 

the  same  time.  Many  farmers  prefer  to  have  their  timothy 
grass  stand  until  nearly  ripe  before  cutting,  claiming  that  they 
get  a  larger  yield,  which  I  grant,  but  at  a  great  sacrifice  in 
quality.  I  hear  many  intelligent  farmers  remark  that  they  can 
not  winter  their  steers  on  timothy  hay  alone,  for  the  reason  they 
become  so  constipated,  and  their  hair  becomes  so  staring  that 
they  are  compelled  to  give  them  grain.  I  believe  the  cause  of 
the  constipation  is  found  in  the  fact  that  in  maturing  the  seed  the 
whole  of  the  saccharine  juices  are  extracted  from  the  stem, 
leaving  little  but  woody  fiber,  added  to  which  is  the  loss  of 
nearly  the  whole  of  the  seed,  which  usually  happens  from  the 
frequent  handling.  By  this  method  you  have  an  innutritious 
mass,  just  a  little  superior  to  wheat  straw. 

My  method  of  making  hay  is  to  cut  as  above  described,  as 
nearly  as  may  be ;  and  when  fairly  wilted,  if  possible  on 
the  evening  of  the  day  on  which  it  is  cut,  I  have  it  raked 
and  put  into  moderately-sized  cocks,  and  there  it  remains  for 
several  days  to  cure,  before  I  stack  or  house  it.  With  such 
hay,  I  dare  undertake  to  winter  any  kind  of  stock  without  fear 
of  constipation,  or  any  very  serious  deterioration  of  flesh,  and 
without  the  aid  of  grain,  unless,  perhaps,  in  the  case  of  calves 
or  young  colts. 

FEEDING. 

My  method  of  disposing  of  our  crops  is  to  feed  everything 
raised  on  the  farm  excepting  wheat,  and  occasionally  excepting 
rye,  when  it  happens  to  bring  a  price  at  which  we  can  substi- 
tute oats  or  corn  with  a  profit. 

HORSES. 

I  keep  a  variety  of  stock,  and  am  doing  a  considerable 
business  in  horses.  I  breed  Clydesdales  which  are  my  prefer- 
ence, being  better  adapted  to  all  purposes  of  farm  and  road 
than  any  other  single  breed  of  horses  in  this  country.  They 
have  better  action,  and  more  substantial  feet  and  legs. 

CATTLE. 

I  play  the  part  of  feeder  rather  than  a  breeder  of  cattle. 
I  usually  feed  a  small  number  each  Winter,  and  sometimes  feed 


496  DAVIS  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

some  cattle  during  the  Summer.  In  fact,  I  think  better  profits 
can  be  obtained  from  corn  fed  in  Summer  than  in  Winter.  I 
usually  feed  cattle  one  year  younger,  thereby  getting  greater 
growth.  Such  cattle  have  sometimes  attained  a  growth  of  six 
hundred  pounds  each.  They  were  Durham  grades,  two  years 
old.  I  commenced  to  feed  in  June,  and  sold  at  Christmas. 

HOGS. 

I  have  been  breeding  Poland  China  hogs  for  several  years. 
They  are  very  good  hogs  ;  perhaps  not  quite  equal  to  the 
Berkshire  for  very  early  fattening,  but  at  sixteen  or  eighteen 
months  old  they  will  make  more  pork.  For  small  farmers,  the 
Berkshire  proves  the  most  profitable  hog,  more  especially  when 
the  feeder  is  situated  so  as  to  be  able  to  sell  his  shoats  when  they 
weigh  one  hundred  pounds.  They  can  be  made  to  weigh  that 
amount  with  less  grain  than  any  breed  with  which  I  am 
acquainted. 

SHEEP. 

I  breed  Cotswold  sheep.  They  are  better  adapted  to 
mixed  husbandry  than  the  fine-wooled  varieties,  being  very 
much  superior  as  a  mutton  sheep,  and  yielding  larger  quanti- 
ties of  wool,  for  which  there  has  been  a  very  fair  demand  of 
late  years.  I  was  the  first  to  introduce  the  Cotswold  into  this 
country,  by  importing  a  carload  from  Canada  about  seven  years 
ago,  since  which  time  a  marked  improvement  in  the  flocks  of 
the  region  has  taken  place.  It  is  often  remarked  by  sheep 
buyers  that  the  best  grade  of  sheep  found  in  any  portion  of 
Iowa  are  to  be  found  in  this  vicinity.  My  management  of 
sheep  is  very  simple,  and  not  expensive.  My  ewes  never  drop 
their  lambs  until  after  the  twentieth  of  April.  The  weather 
is  usually  warm  after  that  time,  consequently  I  have  little 
trouble  in  looking  after  the  lambs.  The  ewes  are  apt  to  lose 
their  lambs  when  dropped  in  Winter,  or  early  Spring.  There 
is  generally  sufficient  grass  the  last  of  April  to  give  the  ewes 
plenty  of  milk,  so  my  lambs  grow  from  the  start.  I 
wean  them  in  August,  so  as  to  allow  the  ewes  to  get  into  good 
flesh  before  Winter.  My  Winter  management  generally  con- 


MANAGEMENT  OF  SHEEP  IN  WINTER.  497 

sists  of  letting  them  run  in  the  stalk  fields,  and  a  blue  grass 
pasture  with  a  few  hay  stacks  to  run  to  in  stormy  weather. 
When  the  year  comes  around  I  realize  larger  profits  from  my 
sheep  than  from  a  similar  amount  invested  in  any  other  kind 
of  farm  stock,  with  the  additional  advantage  of  having  my 
pastures  enriched,  as  no  class  of  stock  will  benefit  pasture 
grounds  as  will  sheep.  This  is  in  part  accounted  for  by  the 
fact  that  they  more  evenly  distribute  their  droppings,  and  have 
an  invariable  preference  for  lying  on  high  points  of  land,  if 
their  pastures  have  such  elevations,  which  require  most  manure. 
I  would  say  to  those  seeking  homes  in  the  West,  especially 
those  who  wish  to  engage  in  stock  farming,  that  to  my  mind 
there  is  no  portion  of  the  country  that  offers  superior  induce- 
ments to  this.  Our  lands  are  cheap,  a  very  necessary  requisite  to 
induce  emigration.  As  a  corn  growing  country,  we  are  just 
about  on  an  average  with  the  rest  of  the  State.  For  Fall 
wheat,  our  average  is  fair,  but  for  grass,  that  great  desideratum 
and  base  of  all  good  husbandry,  we  are  head  and  shoulders 
above  every  other  part  of  Iowa,  with  the  exception,  perhaps,  of 
two  or  three  counties  in  the  southwestern  portion  of  the  State, 
and  are  quite  the  equal  of  the  best  of  those.  We  have  proba- 
bly quite  as  much  timber  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county  as 
is  found  in  any  one  county  in  the  State.  For  coal,  our  store 
is  limitless.  The  climate  is  similar  to  that  of  other  portions 
of  the  country  in  the  same  latitude,  with  the  exception 
that  having  more  than  an  average  amount  of  timber,  we  do  not 
suffer  from  the  Winter  winds  as  much  as  those  portions  lying 
more  exposed  and  bleak.  So  upon  the  whole,  we  think  we 
have  all  the  qualifications  requisite  to  make  farming  successful. 

32 


498  HENRY  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

SYLVESTER  SMITH, 

WAYNE,     HENRY     COUNTY. 

Rich  Soil — Drainage  Absolutely  Necessary  —  Rotation  of  Crops 
Potatoes  —  Stock. 

Wayne  is  situated  in  the  northern  portion  of  Henry 
county,  in  a  prairie  township,  not  having  over  two  hundred 
acres  of  native  timber  in  it. 

THE  SOIL. 

It  has  a  black  soil,  about  thirty  inches  in  depth,  and  a  clay 
subsoil.  Both  the  soil  and  the  subsoil  are  well  calculated  to 
retain  moisture,  and  in  a  residence  of  thirty-eight  years  I 
find  that  crops  are  more  frequently  injured  by  excessive  wet' 
than  by  drought.  Crooked  creek  on  the  north  and  Skunk 
river  on  the  west,  have  good  bodies  of  native  timber. 

PEAT. 

I  have  dug  two  wells  in  my  pasture,  in  both  of  which  I 
went  through  two  feet  of  peat  at  about  eight  feet  from  the 
surface. 

DRAINAGE. 

There  is  no  subject  now  before  the  farmer  of  so  much 
importance  as  that  of  draining.  If  we  could  draw  off  the  sur- 
plus water  promptly,  our  crops  would  be  assured  almost  to  a 
certainty.  Machine  ditching,  both  the  open  and  what  we  term 
gopher  ditching,  have  been  tried,  and  failed,  as  they  do  not 
prove  durable.  Tiling  is  used  now,  but  is  rather  an  experi- 
ment as  yet.  What  has  been  put  in  has  been  in  sloughs 
mostly,  not  on  flat  land.  One  neighbor  has  put  in  two  hun- 
dred rods.  His  main  object  is  to  get  water  for  stock.  He 
used  three  inch  tile,  and  put  it  down  five  feet,  but  the  water 
supply  failed  for  a  time  last  Fall.  Those  who  have  extended 
their  ditches  into  the  flat  land,  and  put  them  in  deeper 
have  permanent  water.  There  is  no  doubt  but  tiling  will  be 


ROTATING  CROPS  — MACHINERY.  499 

of  great  advantage  to  our  level  lands,  and  will  be  used  as  fast 
as  possible,  its  cost  being  the  principal  drawback.  Three  inch 
tile  costs  from  eighteen  to  twenty-two  dollars  per  thousand, 
and  twenty-five  cents  per  rod  for  putting  in  three  feet  deep. 

ROTATING    CROPS 

My  farming  is  what  would  be  called  mixed  farming,  corn 
being  the  leading  crop.  Wheat  is  not  raised  extensively  for 
market. 

Experience  has  proved  that  it  is  best  to  rotate  the  crops,, 
and  as  we  raise  more  corn  than  small  grain,  we  put  in  two- 
crops  of  corn  and  one  of  small  grain. 

A  DESTRUCTIVE   WORM. 

There  is  a  small  worm  or  maggot  that  works  in  among 
the  corn,  eating  off  the  small  roots,  and  sometimes  destroying 
the  whole  field.  Sowing  to  small  grain  has  a  tendency  to 
destroy  them. 

PREPARING  THE   SOIL. 

No  artificial  manures  are  used,  but  all  that  is  made  is 
carefully  saved  and  put  on  the  land.  This,  with  an  occa- 
sional grassing,  keeps  the  land  productive.  The  best  crop 
of  corn  1  have  ever  raised  was  on  pasture  sod,  although  I  have 
raised  nearly  as  good  on  meadow  sod.  My  plan  is  to  break  my 
sod  as  early  as  possible  in  the  Spring,  break  it  deep,  and  turn 
the  sod  without  breaking  it,  lapping  it  a  little.  Then  harrow 
thoroughly  once  a  week  till  planting  time.  I  have  raised 
seventy  bushels  per  acre  in  this  way,  by  simply  cultivating  the 
corn  twice  after  planting. 

MACHINERY. 

I  use  the  sulky  plow  considerably.  It  does  its  work  in  a 
superior  manner,  but  the  extra  amount  of  team  required  is  an 
objection.  I  use  the  two  horse  walking  cultivator  with  wheels, 
exclusively.  For  harvesting  machines,  the  combined  machines 
meet  with  most  favor  at  my  hands,  the  Champion  and  Buck- 


500  HENRY  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

eye  taking  the  lead.  There  are  a  few  Harvesters  in  this 
locality,  but  farmers  do  not  generally  raise  grain  enough  to 
make  them  pay. 

YELLOW  CORN. 

I  find  the  yellow  corn  and  the  yellow  speckled  do  and 
yield  better  and  are  better  for  fattening  stock  than  any  other. 

WHEAT. 

I  have  experimented  with  numerous  varieties  of  wheat,  and 
am  now  raising  the  Pearl  and  Lost  Nation.  The  Lost  Nation  is  a 
smooth  wheat,  very  long  in  the  head,  and  ripens  about  the 
time  of  the  Mammoth  or  Tea  wheat.  It  is  a  fine  grain,  but 
liable  to  blight  in  the  upper  part  of  the  head. 

POTATOES. 

The  potato  crop  is  very  much  neglected  by  farmers  gener- 
ally, and  as  I  have  had  very  good  success  for  the  last  few  years, 
I  will  give  my  plan.  My  rule  is  to  plant  one  acre  every 
year.  I  select  a  piece  of  dry  ground  in  the  corner  or  side  of  a 
field  that  is  to  be  planted  to  corn,  the  first  object  being  to  get 
a  dry  place,  as  potatoes  will  not  do  well  on  wet  ground,  or  if 
they  do  grow,  the  quality  will  be  poor.  If  I  have  Fall  plowing 
so  much  the  better,  stir  both  ways  with  a  cultivator,  and 
follow  with  the  harrow.  I  then  mark  off  both  ways  at  the 
same  distance  that  I  would  mark  for  corn.  I  cut  my  potatoes 
and  put  two  pieces  in  a  hill.  I  then  take  my  cultivator  and 
turn  the  shovels  together,  and  cover  them.  I  give  them  the 
same  cultivation  that  I  do  my  corn,  and  hoe  them  once  if  they 
need  it.  I  plant  Peach  Blows  mostly,  but  grow  a  few  Early  Rose 
and  White  Meshannocks.  My  one  acre  of  potatoes  has  never 
failed  to  supply  my  family  of  eight,  and  I  usually  sell  from  ten 
to  thirty  dollars  worth.  I  plant  fair  sized  potatoes  usually,  but 
see  no  difference  in  the  result  when  I  plant  small  ones. 

APIARY. 

I  keep  a  few  bees,  but  do  not  find  it  profitable  to  sell 
iioney.  I  lose  some  of  my  bees  every  "Winter,  and  only  find 


STOCK.  501 

an  occasional  season  that  is  favorable  for  storing  honey.     I  use 
the  Langstroth  hive,  and  Winter  them  out  doors. 

STOCK. 

I  usually  feed  all  the  corn  I  raise  on  the  farm  to  my  horses, 
cattle  and  hogs,  and  find  that  it  pays  well.  After  trying 
various  breeds  of  hogs  I  call  the  Poland  China  best.  They  are 
as  healthy  as  any  other  breed,  and  are  of  quick  growth,  and 
fatten  easy  at  any  age.  But  the  hog  disease  has  raged  fearfully 
the  last  year.  Not  less  than  four  thousand  have  died  in  this 
township  in  that  time.  I  have  found  no  remedy  that  will  do 
any  good  after  they  become  diseased,  and  I  have  but  little  con- 
fidence in  any  preventive.  I  saved  part  of  mine  (or  think  I 
did)  by  dividing  them  into  small  lots  and  moving  them  to 
fresh  ground. 

I  am  improving  my  herd  of  cattle  by  introducing  the 
Durham  stock.  No  other  breed  is  raised  here. 


H.  B.  COX, 

MISSOURI  VALLEY,   HARRISON  COUNTY. 

A  Stock  Farm —  Corn  —  Pasture  Feeding  and  Fattening  Cattle 
—  Economical  Methods  of  Raising  Hogs  —  Plans  for  Hand- 
ling and  Stacking  Hay. 

My  farm  is  situated  in  Harrison  county,  eight  miles  from 
the  Missouri  river,  and  one  mile  from  Missouri  Valley  Junction. 
The  farm  consists  of  one  thousand  and  ninety-three  acres,  one 
hundred  acres  of  which  are  native  forest,  and  eight  acres  are 
in  artificial  groves,  consisting  principally  of  walnut,  cotton- 
wood  and  box  elder.  Six  hundred  acres  are  in  cultivation,  and 
fifty  acres  fenced  for  mow  land.  The  remainder  is  commons. 

CORN. 

In  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  I  confine  myself  almost  en- 


502  HARRISON  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

iirely  to  the  production  of  corn,  which  is  converted  into  beef 
and  pork  before  being  marketed.  In  preparing  the  ground  for 
coi'u  in  the  Spring,  the  first  thing  to  consider  is  the  stalks  left 
standing  from  last  year's  crop.  As  soon  as  the  ground  is  suf- 
ficiently thawed,  these  I  cut.  A  stalk  cutter,  drawn  by  two 
horses  and  cutting  two  rows  at  a  time,  is  used  for  this  purpose. 
This  cuts  the  stalks  into  pieces  about  twelve  inches  long.  I 
never  burn  the  stalks,  but  leave  every  such  thing  on  the  ground, 
believing  this  does  not  exhaust  the  soil  as  rapidly  as  it  would 
to  burn  them.  The  stalks  being  cut,  my  plow  is  started,  which 
turns  two  furrows  of  twelve  inches  each  and  six  to  eight  inches  i 
deep. 

In  an  ordinary  Spring  I  start  my  corn  planter  about  the 
twentieth  of  April  and  follow  up  the  plow  as  closely  as  possi- 
ble. I  use  the  Brown  corn  planter  with  Haworth's  rope  check 
rower  attached.  The  last  named  implement  saves  marking 
off  the  ground,  saves  one  hand  in  planting,  and  enables  one  to 
run  the  planter  the  same  way  that  the  ground  is  plowed  as 
fast  as  it  is  plowed.  I  prefer  the  rope  to  the  wire  check- 
rower,  because  it  drops  more  accurately  on  rough  ground,  is 
more  easily  operated,  costs  less,  and,  according  to  my  ex- 
perience, lasts  about  as  long. 

I  plant  corn  three  feet,  ten  inches  apart  each  way,  about 
three  inches  deep,  and  drop  from  three  to  five  grains  in  a  hill. 
As  soon  as  it  is  well  through  the  ground,  I  go  over  it  and  re- 
plant any  hills  that  may  be  missing,  using  an  ordinary  spade 
for  this  purpose.  When  the  corn  is  large  enough,  that  is  from 
two  to  three  inches  high,  I  commence  to  cultivate. 

I  prefer  a  two-horse  walking  cultivator  ;  one  manufactured 
by  Furst  and  Bradley,  of  Chicago,  gives  me  great  satisfaction. 
This  cultivator  I  run  through  the  corn  from  three  to  four 
times,  or  as  often  as  one  team  will  go  over  fifty  acres  by  the 
first  of  July,  it  not  being  expedient  in  my  judgment  to  cultivate 
in  our  soil  after  that  time.  After  this  I  go  through  the  corn 
with  the  hoe  and  cut  out  all  the  larger  and  obnoxious  weeds. 
My  corn,  all  but  about  one  hundred  and  ten  acres,  is  husked 
by  hand,  and  cribbed  in  the  feed  yard  preparatory  to  feeding 


FATTENING  STEERS.  503 

cattle.     I  then  turn  on  ray  cattle  and  hogs  and  they  clean  up 
the  fields. 

FEEDING    CATTLE. 

I  usually  feed  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  head  of 
steers,  one-half  of  which  are  of  my  own  breeding,  and  are 
grade  Short- Horns.  I  make  it  a  point  to  Winter  them  well. 
The  first  season  I  allow  them  the  range  of  the  stalk  fields  during 
the  day  and  at  night  they  are  put  into  a  lot  by  themselves  and 
given  a  good  feed  of  corn. 

My  pasture  is  the  common  prairie  grass.  As  soon  as  it  is 
large  enough  in  the  Spring  to  afford  good  pasture,  I  brand  the 
calves  and  turn  them  out  with  the  other  stock  cattle.  They 
are  salted  frequently  and  well  cared  for  during  the  herding 
season,  but  I  feed  nothing  until  the  pasture  becomes  dry  in  the 
Fall.  I  then  commence  to  feed  plenty  of  hay  until  the  stalk 
range  is  ready,  when  I  turn  all  the  cattle  into  it,  at  the  same 
time  giving  them  free  access  to  a  rick  of  good  hay.  They  are 
treated  in  this  manner  until  the  first  of  March,  when  they  are 
turned  into  the  feed  yard  and  are  given  all  the  corn  they  will 
cat,  until  the  pasture  is  again  good,  when  they  are  turned  out 
and  treated  as  in  the  preceding  season. 

Each  steer  will  eat  two-thirds  of  a  bushel  of  corn,  and 
will  gain  on  an  average  at  least  two  pounds  per  day.  I  make 
my  grade  Short-Horns,  when  they  are  twenty-eight  to  thirty- 
four  months  old,  weigh  from  sixteen  hundred  to  seventeen 
hundred  pounds.  The  natives  that  I  buy  will  not  weigh 
quite  so  much. 

FATTENING    STEERS. 

I  fatten  them  the  next  Winter  or  the  Winter  before  they 
are  coining  three  years  old.  They  are  usually  taken  off  the 
pasture  about  the  first  of  October  and  turned  into  a  ten  acre 
field  of  corn.  When  first  put  in  I  do  not  allow  them  to  remain 
many  hours  at  a  time,  but  gradually  accustom  them  to  a  full 
feed  of  corn.  After  the  ten  acres  are  eaten  I  turn  them  into 
a  field  of  one  hundred  acres.  Both  these  fields  connect  with 
the  feed  yard  where  I  have  a  good  spring  of  pure  water.  They 
also  have  access  at  all  times  to  hay  and  salt.  When  this  field 


504  HARRISON   COUNTY,  IOWA. 

is  finished,  I  turn  them  into  the  feed  yard  and  feed  them  all 
they  will  eat  of  corn  in  the  ear. 

*  r 

CORN    CRIBS. 

My  cribs  are  so  arranged  that  they  are  self-feeders ;  the 
troughs  are  constructed  against  the  sides  of  the  crib,  and  a 
crack  about  two  and  a  half  to  three  inches  wide,  is  left  in  the  crib 
on  a  level  with  the  bottom  of  the  troughs.  This  crack  is 
arranged  so  that  it  may  be  closed  up  when  desired  to  allow  the 
steers  to  clean  up,  as  we  say,  which  is  about  once  a  week.  The 
cribs  and  hay  sheds  are  arranged  so  as  to  give  the  steers  pro- 
tection from  the  storms.  The  main  crib  is  one  hundred  and 
forty  feet  long,  with  a  shed  twelve  feet  wide  on  the  south  side. 
The  cattle  can  stand  at  the  trough  and  at  the  same  time  have 
the  shelter  of  a  good  roof.  My  hay  shed  joins  the  end  of 
this  crib,  the  feed  steers  having  access  to  one  side,  and  the 
stock  cattle  to  the  other.  My  feed  yard  is  connected  with  an 
artificial  grove  by  a  tunnel  passing  under  the  main  wagon  road. 
This  grove  is  situated  on  a  southern  hillside,  thus  giving  the 
cattle  ample  room  arid  good  protection  from  the  storms. 

HOGS. 

Of  the  several  good  breeds  of  hogs  I  prefer  the  Berkshire, 
and  I  believe  them  particularly  well  adapted  for  following  cattle. 
They  are  more  industrious,  and  in  consequence  of  their  lively 
habits,  are  less  liable  to  contract  the  various  diseases  that  swine- 
of  late  years  are  heir  to.  I  have  twenty-five  acres  of  blue  grass 
fenced  with  a  hog-proof  fence,  where  I  keep  my  sows  and  pigs 
during  the  Winter.  My  hog  house  is  in  this  pasture.  A  week 
or  so  before  the  sow  farrows,  I  put  her  into  a  stall  by  herself, 
where  I  let  her  remain  until  her  pigs  are  about  three  weeks 
old.  Then  I  turn  them  into  pasture  with  my  other  sows  and 
pigs  of  the  same  age,  where  they  all  have  plenty  of  exercise 
and  pure  water.  When  the  pigs  arc  two  months  old  they  are 
put  into  a  small  lot  with  comfortable  sleeping  quarters,  until 
they  are  weaned.  They  are  then  turned  out  into  the  pasture 
again,  and  a  small  lot  arranged  so  that  only  the  pigs  can  get  in, 
where  I  give  them  extra  feed.  This  is  my  plan  for  Winter 


PLAN  OF  HOG  HOUSE,  CORN  CRIB,  ETC. 


505 


Ends  sided  up  and  down. 


9>4  ft.  wide. 


CORN 
CRIB. 


7  ft.  wide. 


HOG   PEN. 
8x12. 


:  ThU  door  niakei  >he 
partition  Ktwctu  the 
ptiis,  or,  when  shut 
around,  ilosej  the  hogs 
junder  the  tiin  MI  Hint 
yon  can  iake  h"i;i  from 
any  pen  without  ui=- 
turblug  other  pens 


Klojr  3  inches  highest  inside. 

END  VIEW  OF  HOQ  HOUSE,  CORN  CRIB  AND  HAY  MOW  COMBINED. 

By  making  4  ft.  long,  will  give  room  for  five  pens  on  each  side,  8x12  ft.,  and  will  accommo- 
date sixty  or  seventy  hogs.  Cribs  will  hold  1,000  bushels  corn,  and  mow  12  tons  of  liay.  Wo 
have  a  cow  and  calf  house  built  on  the  eud,  with  hay  over. 

1— Movable  roof  on  hog  pen,  made  of  1-inch  boards,  7  feet  long,  with  2x4 
studding  20  inches  from  the  top  end,  with  piece  of  %-inch  round  iron  in  each 
end  projecting  out  and  into  studding,  that  extends  from  side  of  corn  crib  to 
outside  of  hog  pen.  2  —  Roof,  partly  raised  to  admit  of  cleaning  out  and 
letting  in  air  in  Summer.  3  —  Roof,  thrown  open  to  admit  the  sunshine. 
4 — Weather  strip,  10  inches  wide,  fastened  on  lower  end  of  siding,  and  extend- 
ing out  over  the  top  end  of  the  movable  roof. 


50b 


HARRISON   COUNTY,  IOWA 


treatment.  In  the  Spring  I  turn  sows,  shoats  and  pigs  into  a 
six  acre  lot  of  Brazilian  artichokes.  This  lot  is  connected  with 
my  artificial  grove  by  a  tunnel.  As  before  stated,  this  grove 
is  connected  with  the  lot  in  which  the  spring  is  situated  by 
another  tunnel,  thus  giving  the  hogs  uninterrupted  communi- 
cation with  the  spring  of  water.  I  keep  the  hogs  in  this  lot 
until  the  middle  of  May,  when  I  turn  them  into  a  field  of  ten 
acres  of  rye.  This  with  the  addition  of  a  very  little  corn  will 
feed  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred  head  of  hogs  all 
Summer.  By  this  method  my  young  hogs  do  not  come  so  fast 
as  to  compel  me  to  feed  grain  heavily,  but  at  the  same  time  I 
think  the  hogs  are  less  liable  to  disease.  The  first  of  Septem- 
ber I  begin  to  increase  their  feed,  and  by  October  I  have  them 
on  full  feed  and  ready  to  go  into  the  corn  field  with  my  feed- 
ing steers.  Then  I  separate  the  brood  sows  from  the  herd, 
put  them  back  in  the  pasture,  and  treat  as  before  described,  while 
the  remainder  run  with  the  feed  steers,  and  are  sold  from  time 
to  time,  as  they  become  marketable.  I  usually  wish  to  have 
about  three  hogs  to  one  steer;  by  having  this  number  they 
keep  the  corn  well  cleaned  up,  thus  preventing  the  waste  that 
would  attend  feeding  down  corn  in  the  field. 

HOG    HOUSE. 


3        4 

T 


10        11 


My  hog  house  is  ninety-six  feet  long,  and  six  feet  wide. 
It  is  boarded  up  and  down  with  twelve  foot  lumber,  which  is 
sawed  in  two,  so  as  to  give  the  roof  the  proper  slope  ;  that  is,  the 
shorter  side  about  five  and  one-half  feet  high,  the  longer,  six 


LITTLE  GIANT  HAY  STACKER. 


507 


508  HARRISON  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

and  a  half  feet.  It  is  divided  into  sixteen  stalls,  twelve  foot 
lumber  being  used,  projecting  out  six  feet  in  front  of  the 
house.  Against  the  ends  of  these  partitions,  and  parallel  to 
the  front  of  the  house,  a  tight  board  fence  about  three  feet  high 
is  constructed,  thus  making  each  stall  twelve  feet  by  six  feet, 
six  feet  square  being  under  cover,  and  floored,  and  six  feet 
square  on  the  ground,  where  the  trough  is  placed. 

HAY  MAKING. 

My  hay  is  the  common  prairie  hay.  I  usually  commence 
to  cut  it  between  the  twentieth  of  August  and  the  first  of  Sep- 
tember. I  use  the  Buckeye  Junior  mower,  which  being  started, 
for  example  in  the  morning,  the  mown  hay  is  not  touched  until 
after  dinner  the  next  day,  when  I  am  ready  to  commence  stack- 
ing. For  this  purpose  I  use  the  Little  Giant  hay  stacker,  and 
two  rakes,  each  about  twelve  feet  long.  To  stack  with  these 
requires  four  men  and  five  horses.  The  two  rakes  take  the  hay 
from  the  swath  just  as  it  was  left  by  the  mower,  and  carry  it  to 
the  stacker.  This  force  will  stack  just  as  much  hay  in  a  day 
as  these  two  rakes  will  carry  to  the  stacker,  which  will  vary 
from  forty  to  sixty  tons. 

LITTLE  GIANT  STACKER. 

This  consists  of  the  foundation  A  H  in  the  drawing,  which 
is  fourteen  feet  long  and  eight  feet  wide.  The  two  uprights 
C  D,  are  fourteen  feet  high ;  and  the  rake  B  E  is  about  twelve 
feet  long.  The  hay  is  carried  on  to  this  rake,  and  is  elevated 
by  means  of  two  ropes,  the  ends  of  which  are  made  fast  to  the 
two  uprights  at  C  and  D,  thence  passing  around  the  pulleys 
near  B  and  E.  These  two  pulleys  are  fastened  to  two  beams, 
each  two  by  six  inches,  attached  by  bolts,  on  which  they 
revolve,  to  the  foundation  timbers  at  F  and  H.  The  rake 
rests  on  these  beams. 

From  the  pulleys  at  B  and  E,  the  rope  runs  through 
pulleys  at  C  and  D,  thence  down  the  uprights  and  through 
pulleys  at  their  feet,  thence  to  the  point  P,  where  the  horse  is 
attached.  The  horse  pulling  here,  elevates  the  rake  with  its 
load  of  hay.  When  the  beams  to  which  the  rake  is  attached 


THE  FIELD  RAKE. 
Scat 


509 


Axle 


IL 


Vt  ft.long 


F    4« 


II 
IT 


510  HARRISON   COUNTY,  IOWA. 

strike  the  uprights,  the  hay  falls  off  on  the  stack.  The  weight, 
W,  must  be  a  little  lighter  than  the  rake,  so  that  the  rake  in 
descending,  will  draw  it  up.  This  weight  assists  the  horse  to 
start  the  load,  and  continues  to  assist  him,  until  it  strikes  the 
ground.  As  the  load  is  drawn  up  from  this  point,  the  weight 
is  again  raised,  and  is  thus  suspended  in  the  air  ready  to  draw 
the  rake  down  as  soon  as  the  horse  is  backed  up. 

To  use  the  stacker,  one  man  is  needed  to  stack  the  hay, 
one  horse  to  elevate  it,  and  one  man  to  drive  said  horse  and  keep 
all  the  hay  cleaned  up  that  falls  back  when  being  elevated ; 
also  two  hands  and  teams  to  run  the  rakes. 

THE  FIELD  RAKE. 

The  field  rake,  as  illustrated  on  the  preceding  page,  is 
about  twelve  feet  long.  It  is  so  constructed  that  it  will  take 
up  the  hay  just  as  it  was  left  by  the  mower.  The  team  is 
hitched  to  the  tongue,  as  shown  in  the  diagram.  The  driver 
sits  on  the  seat,  with  one  foot  on  the  axle  on  each  side  of  the 
tongue.  The  axle  revolves  about  a  bolt  passing  through  it 
and  the  tongue.  The  wheels  are  ordinary  cultivator  wheels. 
The  driver  guides  the  rake  with  his  feet.  The  rake  being 
loaded  with  hay  is  then  driven  to  the  stacker,  coming  up 
squarely  in  front  of  the  stacker  rake ;  its  load  is  pushed  on  to 
this  rake,  the  teeth  of  the  field  rake  passing  between  the  teeth 
of  the  stacker  rake.  The  team  is  then  backed  out,  the  hay  being 
held  on  the  stacker  rake  by  the  prongs,  as  shown  in  the  figure. 

SOIL. 

My  soil  is  a  rich  sandy  loam,  which  is  very  remarkable  for 
its  power  to  withstand  excessive  wet  or  drouth.  There  is 
plenty  of  timber  for  firewood  and  fence  posts,  which  is  well 
distributed.  The  beautiful  rolling  prairies,  the  broad  expanse 
of  Missouri  bottom  land,  almost  every  acre  susceptible  of  culti- 
vation, the  far-famed  Boyer  valley,  railroads  leading  north, 
east,  south  and  west,  villages,  schools  and  churches,  the  dry 
and  healthy  climate,  all  combine  to  render  this  portion  of  our 
country  a  very  desirable  farming  locality. 


OVER  CULTIVATION  OF  PEACH  TREES.  5U 

L.  W.  CLEMENTS, 

PLEASANT  VALLEY,   SCOTT   COUNTY. 

Peaches  —  Manner  of  Planting  —  Cultivation  —  Secret  of  Suc- 
cess —  Onions  —  Soil  —  Preparation  of  the  Ground  —  Cul- 
ture —  Profits. 

Nearly  twenty  years  ago,  in  planting  an  apple  orchard 
with  rows  two  rods  each  way,  I  planted  intermediate  rows  of 
peach  trees,  seedlings  from  Hale's  early.  The  first  two  years 
I  cultivated  an  onion  crop.  The  trees  grew  finely,  but  owing 
to  extra  cultivation,  as  would  be  expected  in  the  hoeing  and 
care  of  an  onion  crop,  the  trees  grew  too  fast,  and  too  late  in 
the  Fall,  going  into  the  Winter  with  unripened  wood. 

TREES   KILLED. 

They  were  all  killed  back.  The  location  was  a  north 
slope  of  timber  land.  In  the  following  Spring  these  trees  threw 
out  new  shoots,  and  I  kept  them  nicely  trimmed,  but  under 
the  cultivation  I  gave  they  grew  too  fast  again  and  were 
damaged. 

SEEDING  TO   TIMOTHY 

I  then  seeded  to  timothy  grass.  This  checked  the  growth 
of  all  the  trees  in  the  sod.  One  row  of  these  trees,  however,  I 
continued  to  cultivate  in  garden.  The  following  year  the  trees 
fruited,  those  in  sod  breaking  down  with  the  weight  of  fruit, 
which  was  small,  and  of  inferior  quality.  The  row  under  culti- 
vation, owing  to  the  mild  Winter  preceding,  came  through  in 
fair  condition.  The  trees  were  not  so  full  of  fruit,  but  were  of 
superior  quality  and  flavor,  and  twice  as  large.  This  one  crop 
was  all  the  fruit  I  got  from  this  orchard  worth  mentioning. 
The  trees  now  became  diseased.  Borers  began  to  work,  the 
gum  exuded,  and  the  fruit  after  this  proved  inferior,  and  the 
trees  died.  In  the  succeeding  years  until  1870,  I  had  a  few 


512  SCOTT  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

scattering  trees  set  along  the  fences,  and  these  bore  fruit  oc- 
casionally. 

I  observed  that  when  the  trees  did  bear,  the  fruit  brought 
twice  as  much  money  as  the  fruit  from  the  same  number  of 
apple  trees  did  ;  therefore  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  more 
money  would  be  derived  from  a  peach  orchard,  with  less  labor, 
than  from  any  other  kind  of  fruit.  This  fact  determined  me 
to  turn  my  attention  to  raising  peaches. 

PLANTING. 

In  the  Fall  of  1870, 1  saved  a  lot  of  pits,  and  planted  them 
in  November  of  the  same  year.  I  prepared  the  bed  by  throw- 
ing up  the  soil  with  a  spade,  six  or  eight  inches  deep.  Leveled 
the  bed  down  smooth,  sowed  in  the  pits  and  "spanked"  them 
down  level  with  the  earth.  I  covered  with  boards,  and  filled  the 
crevices  with  earth.  The  process  was  now  complete.  My  object 
in  covering  in  this  way  is  obvious,  as  the  boards  could  be  raised 
carefully  in  eaily  Spring  to  ascertain  the  length  of  the  germ, 
so  as  to  remove  them  to  the  nursery  row  at  the  proper  time. 
The  sprouts  were  not  allowed  to  get  more  than  an  inch 
long  before  setting.  The  distance  apart  in  the  row  was  not 
less  than  twelve  inches,  so  as  to  allow  room  for  digging. 
The  rows  were  not  less  than  three  feet  apart. 

NURSERY    STOCK. 

My  nursery  stock  grew  finely  under  the  thorough  culti- 
vation I  gave  it  with  hoe  and  cultivator.  Some  attained  the 
hight  of  five  feet  the  first  year.  In  the  month  of  April,  1872, 
I  set  an  orchard  of  eight  hundred  trees,  the  ground  having 
been  previously  prepared  and  laid  off  for  corn,  in  rows  three 
feet  and  ten  inches  each  way.  I  then  set  in  every  fourth 
check,  making  the  rows  fifteen  feet  four  inches  wide.  I  culti- 
vated in  corn  for  two  years.  The  trees  made  rapid  growth, 
but  in  1874,  the  cold  Winter  killed  them  back  the  prior  year's 
growth.  In  1875,  they  threw  out  new  shoots  and  filled  nicely 
with  fruit  buds.  In  187G,  I  procured  four  hundred  bushels  of 
very  fair  fruit  from  the  eight  hundred  trees  set  as  above  stated. 


SECRET  OF  SUCCESS.  513 

I  sold  most  of  this  crop  in  Davenport,  Iowa,  at  two  dollars,  and 
two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  per  bushel,  clearing  about  eight 
hundred  dollars  on  the  crop.  In  187-4,  I  took  the  remaining 
trees  from  the  nursery  and  put  out  four  hundred,  matching 
them  with  the  rows  of  the  first  orchard.  In  1878,  I  had  half  a 
crop  from  twelve  hundred  trees,  which  I  sold  for  five  hundred 
dollars,  clearing  about  four  hundred  dollars.  I  have,  in  eight 
years  from  planting  the  pits,  cleared  twelve  hundred  dollars. 
Who  can  equal  this  showing  with  an  apple  orchard?  We 
import  annually  thousands  of  dollars  worth  of  this  fruit  from 
Michigan  and  the  Southern  States. 

It  certainly  pays  better  with  a  crop  once  in  three  years, 
than  any  apple  orchard  that  can  be  grown. 

I  will  add  that  I  now  have  two  thousand  peach  trees  set. 
Eight  hundred  of  them  are  three  years  old.  The  older  trees 
are  in  sod.  Last  year,  1879,  I  had  the  promise  of  a  fair  crop, 
but  the  curculio  stung  them,  and  nearly  all  fell  when  a  quarter 
grown.  I  succeeded  in  marketing  twenty-six  baskets  of  six 
quarts  at  sixty  cents.  My  trees  all  went  into  Winter  in  splendid 
condition,  and  at  this  time,  February,  1880,  I  have  the 
promise  of  an  immense  crop  the  present  year. 

SECRET  OP   SUCCESS. 

The  secret  of  my  success  lies  in  my  peculiar  method  of 
growing,  which  is,  first,  to  set  deep  to  protect  the  roots  from 
frost;  second,  to  cut  out  the  center  stalk  so  as  to  leave  from 
three  to  eight  bodies  to  each  tree ;  third,  to  plow  to  the  tree 
so  as  to  cover  the  forks  six  or  eight  inches  under  ground, which 
prevents  the  borer  from  getting  in  the  forks  ;  fourth,  I  divide 
the  bark  among  six  or  eight  bodies,  which  keeps  it  too  thin  for 
the  borers  to  work  under,  as  it  is  known  that  they  never  attack  a 
young  tree;  fifth,  I  never  trim  the  peach  tree  except  to  remove 
a  dead  limb,  as  much  trimming  forces  growth,  and  kills  back. 
Where  trees  are  grown  in  this  way  they  seldom  get  move  than 
eight  or  ten  feet  high,  which  is  a  convenience  in  picking  the 
fruit.  Such  trees,  too,  furnish  better  protection  for  each  other 
and  from  wind,  and  have  open  heads  to  let  in  the  sun. 
33 


514  SCOTT  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

My  variety  of  fruit  has  a  beautiful  red  cheek.  They  are 
all  freestone,  and  sell  readily  in  market.  I  have  now  some  fifty 
early  and  late  Crawfords,  three  years  old,  with  numerous  fruit 
buds.  I  am  well  satisfied  with  my  experiment. 

ONIONS. 

Among  the  various  crops  grown  in  this  part  of  the  State, 
onion  raising  has  become  one  of  the  leading  pursuits.  At 
this  writing,  Feb.  15,  1880,  farmers  are  anxiously  looking  to 
the  probable  vitality  or  defectiveness  of  their  seed  for  the  com- 
ing crop.  Having  grown  the  crop  for  twenty-nine  years,  and 
from  two  to  ten  acres  annually,  I  may  be  classed  with  the  onion 
growers.  Many  persons  have  engaged  in  the  pursuit  from 
time  to  time,  who  have  not  been  successful,  but  this  has  been 
mainly  from  inexperience  ,  sowing  on  land  not  suited  for  such 
crops,  and  lack  of  knowledge  in  preparing  the  land  for  sowing 
and  cultivating  the  same. 

SOIL. 

I  am  located  on  land  which  was  once  covered  with  timber 
and  hazel,  and  the  soil  seems  to  be  well  adapted  to  onion  grow- 
ing. I  have  known  eight  hundred  bushels  to  be  grown  on  an 
acre  of  the  land,  which  at  an  average  price  of  fifty  cents  per 
bushel  would  bring  a  better  return  than  any  other  crop. 
The  Mississippi  bottoms  arc  well  adapted  to  the  growth  of 
this  crop.  Some  growers  claim  to  have  grown  one  thousand 
and  one  thousand  two  hundred  bushels  per  acre  on  this  fertile 
soil,  of  which  sand  seems  to  be  an  important  factor.  As  for 
many  other  root  crops,  the  soil  can  not  be  too  rich.  The 
richer  the  land,  the  earlier  the  crop  will  mature,  the  less  rot, 
and  the  better  prices.  I  have  used  the  same  land  successively 
in  one  instance  for  twenty  years. 

PREPARATION. 

The  land  should  be  plowed,  if  possible  in  the  Fall,  from  eight 
to  ten  inches  deep.  The  action  of  the  frost  on  the  plowed  land 
is  important,  as  well  as  the  packing  process  of  Winter,  Spring 


BOWING  —  CULTIVATION.  615 

plowing  being  generally  too  loose,  and  sometimes  too  lumpy ; 
upland  generally  requires  a  coat  of  manure  biennially,  and  caro 
should  be  used  in  selecting  that  which  is  most  free  from  weed 


and  grass  seeds. 


SOWING. 


I  make  it  a  point  to  sow  the  crop  about  the  first  of 
April,  or  at  the  earliest  opportunity  in  Spring,  between  March 
and  the  first  of  May.  I  have  sown  on  the  twenty-third  of 
February,  with  good  results.  The  ground  should  in  all  cases 
be  in  good  order  before  sowing.  The  common  way  is  to  level 
the  land  with  a  clod  crusher,  then  sow  in  drills  twelve  inches 
apart  and  one  inch  deep,  with  an  ordinary  drill  made  for  the 
purpose. 

CULTIVATION. 

Cultivation  should  commence  as  soon  as  the  young  plants 
straighten  up,  as  they  always  come  up  double.  If  the  crop 
can  be  kept  clean  through  the  month  of  June,  it  is  con- 
sidered secure.  The  wheel  hoe  is  much  used  in  its  culture, 
and  the  straddle  row  cultivator,  which  cuts  all  the  ground 
except  an  inch  that  the  plants  stand  on.  My  son,  who  is  an 
expert,  cultivated  five  acres,  and  kept  them  perfectly  clean 
with  hiring  only  two  and  one-half  days'  labor,  together  with 
two  acres  of  potatoes.  I  usually  gather  when  one-half  to  two- 
thirds  of  the  tops  have  fallen,  by  throwing  six  rows  together, 
pulling  the  two  center  rows  first.  This  is  a  convenience  in 
stripping  (as  we  term  it),  which  is  generally  done  with  a  sharp 
knife.  When  the  bulbs  are  to  remain  on  the  field  any  length 
of  time,  the  piles  should  never  contain  more  than  ten  bushels, 
to  prevent  heating.  I  usually  haul  fifty  bushels  at  a  load, 
marketing  them  at  Davenport,  where  a  ready  market  is  always 
found  at  some  price.  The  onions  are  mostly  shipped  to  St. 
Louis  and  towns  along  the  Mississippi  river,  smaller  lots  some- 
times being  shipped  to  Leavenworth,  Kan.,  and  occasionally  to 
Philadelphia  and  other  points  east.  I  have  known  the  crop  to 
be  sold  at  five  cents  per  bushel,  the  first  year  of  the  war,  and 


516  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

since  then  as  high  as  two  dollars  per  bushel.  Last  year  I  sold 
at  an  average  of  seventy-five  cents  per  bushel,  or  two  hundred 
and  twenty-five  dollars  per  acre,  the  average  number  of  bushels 
being  three  hundred  per  acre,  which  is  an  ordinary  yield.  The 
Early  Red  seems  to  take  the  lead  of  the  several  varieties  grown 
here. 

W.  J.  EMERSON, 

VEGA,  JEFFERSON  COUNTY. 

Drainage — Fertilizers  —  Plowing  —  Rotation  of    Crops  —  Mix- 
ing Seeds  —  Meadows  —  Shelter. 

My  farm,  situated  in  the  southenstern  part  of  the  State, 
is  composed  of  one  hundred  and  nineteen  acres  of  prairie  in 
cultivation,  divided  into  fields  of  convenient  size.  My  princi- 
pal object  in  cultivating  land  is  to  produce  the  greatest  amount 
of  grain,  or  grass,  possible  from  any  given  area.  To  this  end 
there  are  three  things  that  not  only  require,  but  demand  care- 
ful attention,  viz. :  Drainage,  fertilizing,  and  proper  plowing. 

DRAINAGE 

I  consider  as  of  the  first  importance,  for  without  it  much  of 
the  land  in  this  and  adjoining  counties  would  be  comparatively 
worthless.  In  speaking  of  draining  ground  we  do  not  neces- 
sarily mean  the  laying  of  tile  drains,  which,  however,  I  think 
the  propei  method  of  draining  fields,  as  well  as  cellars.  But 
owing  to  the  lateness  of  introducing  tile,  and  the,  attendant 
cost  of  laying  it  successfully,  few  have  gone  into  the  enter- 
prise. Those  who  have,  claim  that  the  products  of  their  fields 
have  been  increased  one  hundred  per  cent,  in  ordinary  seasons 
by  it ;  in  very  wet  seasons  they  are  able  to  produce  fail- 
crops,  when  without  the  drain  the  yield  was  nothing.  The 
ordinary  method  of  draining  ground  with  the  plow,  or  those 
fields  which  are  quite  level,  with  both  plow  and  scraper,  is  of 
so  much  importance  that  it  can  not  be  neglected  with  impunity. 

FERTILIZERS. 

Applying  fertilizing  elements  to  the  soil  is  a  matter  under- 


FERTILIZERS  —  PLOWING.  517 

valued  by  man}-,  the  clean-np  of  barn  and  stock  yards,  if 
taken  to  the  field  at  all,  being  in  such  condition  as  to  be  com- 
paratively worthless,  the  sole  object  appearing  to  be  to  rid 
themselves  of  accumulated  heaps  of  filth.  The  better  plan, 
and  one  I  have  adopted,  is  to  clean  the  yards  in  the  Spring, 
or  early  Summer,  by  throwing  the  accumulation  into  as  large 
heaps  as  convenient  without  loading  and  hauling.  By  Fall 
these  heaps  are  so  decomposed  that  when  properly  applied 
to  the  soil  and  plowed  under,  the  ir.anure  is  of  much  greater 
value  than  it  could  otherwise  have  been.  In  applying  fertil- 
izers to  meadow  land,  the  best  time  I  have  ever  found  is 
during  the  Winter,  or  when  the  ground  is  frozen,  if  it  can  be 
done  ;  it  then  gets  the  Spring  rains,  and  is  well  dissolved  by 
the  time  the  young  grass  starts  up,  which  is  not  smothered  or 
choked  out. 

PLOWING. 

The  matter  of  plowing  land,  cultivating  crops,  and  the 
direction  in  which  the  furrows  are  left  open,  both  as  a  means 
of  open  drains,  and  to  prevent  the  unnecessary  washing  away 
of  soil,  is  too  often  neglected.  The  best  method  for  ascertain- 
ing the  course  in  which  plowing  should  be  done  and  the 
furrows  kept  open  on  level  land,  is  to  go  over  the  field  soon 
after  a  heavy  fall  of  rain  and  note  the  direction  in  which  the 
water  naturally  flows,  and  be  governed  accordingly.  Plowing 
land  and  cultivating  crops  deeply  should  be  the  rule  and  not 
the  exception.  The  subsoil  plow  may  bo  profitably  used  every 
two  or  three  years,  both  as  a  drain  in  wet  and  a  preventive 
against  crops  suffering  iu  very  dry  seasons. 

.  ROTATION    OF    CROPS. 

I  also  give  particular  attention  to  the  rotation  of  crops, 
never  cultivating  or  growing  the  same  variety  of  grain  on 
ground  for  more  than  two  consecutive  years. 

MIXING  SEEDS. 

Another  method  of  increasing  the  yield  of  crops  is  by 
mixing  seeds,  viz.  :  In  corn,  wo  mix  red,  yellow  and  Avhite,  of 
both  early  and  late,  in  equal  quantities  ;  in  wheat,  the  different 


518  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

varieties  that  ripen  near  the  same  time,  and  the  same  with 
oats.  I  have  never  failed  getting  from  ten  to  twenty-five  per 
cent,  greater  yield  than  with  any  single  variety.  I  always  cul- 
tivate as  great  a  variety  of  the  cereals  as  possible.  This 
appears  to  be  necessary  in  a  climate  where  one  extreme  of 
weather  follows  another  in  such  rapid  succession,  for  if  one 
crop  should  fail  another  may  be  productive. 

MEADOWS. 

In  the  management  of  meadows,  it  has  been  my  practice 
to  seed  the  ground  with  pure  timothy,  and  harvest  at  the 
proper  time  to  save  the  seed.  If  care  be  taken,  the  hay  is  not 
materially  injured  for  feeding  stock.  At  the  end  of  three  or 
four  years,  I  resow  the  meadow  with  red  clover,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  loosening  the  soil,  and  the  effect,  like  that  of  mixing 
different  varieties  of  grain,  is  that  the  yield  is  increased  from 
ten  to  twenty-five  per  cent,  on  meadows  that  have  been  in 
grass  that  length  of  time.  In  changing  such  fields  from  grass, 
we  find  that  these  old  meadows  make  excellent  pastures, 
and  fields  having  been  used  for  pasture  are  always  well  adapted 
to  the  cultivation  of  any  crop  requiring  strong  land.  It  is 
perhaps  unnecessary  to  say  that  oats  should  not  be  cultivated 
on  such  land  for  a  number  of  years,  for  the  reason  they  will 
grow  too  tall  and  rank,  and  will  generally  lodge  while  green 
and  heavj',  and  the  effect  will  be  that  the  yield  will  be  very 
poor  if  any.  I  might,  however,  say  here  that  pasture  land 
Summer  fallowed  is  the  best  Winter  wheat  ground  I  have.  I 
keep  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  and  hogs,  in  sufficient  numbers  to 
take  up  what  I  term  the  rough  feed,  that  is,  ha}r,  straw, 
fodder,  etc.,  and  herein  I  make  and  save  a  large  percent,  on  the 
farm. 

SHELTEK. 

But  the  way  I  save  the  greatest  per  cent.,  after  economiz- 
ing my  expenses,  is  by  providing  shelter  for  all  my  stock,  not 
only  for  horses,  colts,  and  milch  cows,  but  for  all  my  stock, 
sheep  and  hogs  included.  In  speaking  of  shelter  for  stock,  I 
do  not  necessarily  mean  a  lar.o-e  fine  barn  with  all  the  con- 


CATTLE  —  ROTATION.  510 

vcniences  that  ingenuity  can  devise  (against  which  I  would 
not,  however,  discriminate),  but  I  would,  by  selecting  suitable 
ground  make  sheds  and  stabling  of  common,  rough,  and  cheap 
lumber,  that  will  protect  my  stock  from  the  storms  and  wind 
of  this  prairie  country  in  Winter,  and  the  heat  of  the  Summer 
sun,  at  a  cost  that  will  be  amply  repaid  every  j-ear.  This  prin- 
ciple is  not  restricted  to  the  few,  but  applicable  alike  to  all, 
from  the  man  who  keeps  a  cow  and  pig,  to  him  who  counts  his 
flocks  and  herds  by  the  hundreds. 

CATTLE. 

I  have  but  little  experience  in  fattening  cattle,  but  if  my 
experience  is  worth  anything,  it  teaches  me  that  the  proper 
method  of  fattening  cattle  is  to  stable  them,  give  the  best  of 
feed  (they  will  take  on  flesh  all  the  faster),  and  allow  them  to 
go  out  during  the  warm  part  of  the  day.  What  I  regard  as  true 
of  cattle  is  also  true  of  any  other  kind  of  stock  I  wish  to  feed  to 
the  best  advantage. 


F.  T.  PILKINGTON, 

ELKPORT,  CLAYTON  COUNTY. 

Rotation    of    Crops    and    Thorough    Manuring   Produce    Good 
Results — It  Pays  to   Clean   Wheat. 

My  farm  consists  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  seventy- 
five  of  which  are  under  cultivation.  The  remainder  is  a  pas- 
ture. A  farm  of  this  size  pays  best,  managed  under  a  system 
of  mixed  husbandry.  The  pasture  and  woodland  contain  forty- 
five  acres,  and  I  have  divided  the  remainder  into  three  fields, 
each  of  which  have  water. 

ROTATION. 

I  aim  to  have  only  one  kind  of  grain  in  a  field,  so  that 
as  soon  as  a  crop  is  harvested  I  can  at  once  turn  my  stock  into 
it.  Every  year  I  raise  about  twenty-five  acres  of  wheat,  twenty 


520  CLAYTON  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

acres  of  corn,  twenty  acres  of  grass,  besides  a  few   acres  of 
potatoes,  cane  and  turnips. 

I  always  try  to  sow  my  crops  so  that  the  same  kind  of 
grain  will  not  be  in  the  same  field  two  years  in  succession.  I 
also  seed  down  and  break  up  grass  land  every  year. 

FERTILIZING. 

By  this  system  of  rotation,  and  at  the  same  time  hauling 
out  all  my  manure,  I  keep  up  the  productive  qualities  of  the 
farm,  and  seldom  fail  in  having  good  crops.  I  always  make  all 
the  manure  I  can,  and  haul  it  out  too.  This,  I  think,  is  a  very 
important  part  of  the  regular  work  of  a  farm. 

TOOLS. 

I  use  the  very  best  tools  I  can  buy.  My  plows  are  strong^ 
durable,  and  of  the  most  improved  patterns.  They  are  light, 
run  easy,  and  wear  well,  which  I  consider  the  most  essential 
points.  I  use  the  common  square  harrow.  It  does  good  work 
and  answers  the  purpose  very  well. 

1  use  a  combined  reaper  and  mower.  It  works  well,  is  a 
first-class  mower,  and  a  very  good  reaper. 

CLEANING   WHEAT. 

I  always  sell  my  wheat,  and  take  great  care  in  cleaning  it 
well  before  shipping  it.  I  find  that  I  am  able  to  get  from 
five  to  ten  cents  per  bushel  more  for  wheat  that  is  cleaned, 
than  for  that  sold  in  the  condition  it  comes  from  the  threshing 
machine. 

With  average  crops  and  fair  wages,  it  costs  me  seventy-five 
cents  per  bushel  to  raise  wheat.  All  that  I  receive  in  excess 
of  this  is  clear  profit. 

COST   AND   CULTIVATION   OF    CORN. 

My  corn  and  oats  I  convert  mostly  into  pork  and  beef. 
The  average  cost  of  raising  corn  with  me  has  been  about  eigh- 
teen cents  per  bushel.  I  always  plow  corn  four  times  and  hoe 
it  once.  Some  farmers  do  not  believe  in  hoeing  corn,  but  I  do. 
It  pays  me  every  time.  My  oats  cost  me  about  fifteen  cents 
per  bushel.  M.y  pork  about  two  and  one-half  cents  per  pound. 


CATTLE  — HOGS  — HOKSES.  521 

and  my  beef  about  the  same.  Of  course  these  estimates  vary 
somewhat  in  different  seasons,  but  averaging  one  year  with 
another,  I  think  they  are  about  correct. 

CATTLE. 

The  best  breed  for  beef  or  milk  on  small  farms,  I  think,  is 
the  common  stock.  These,  if  properly  taken  care  of,  are 
equally  as  good  for  beef  and  inilk  as  the  fancy  breeds.  As 
farmers  can  not  compete  with  creameries,  I  do  not  deem,  it 
advisable  for  them  to  keep  more  cows  than  will  supply  the 
family  with  milk  and  butter. 

HOGS. 

The  Poland  China  is  my  favorite  breed  of  hogs,  as  they 
are  easily  kept,  quick  growers,  and  come  to  maturity  early.  J 
have  a  warm  place  for  them  to  sleep,  and  a  roomy  pen,  with  a 
plank  floor  on  which  to  feed.  The  pens  are  kept  clean,  and 
in  comfortable  condition.  I  would  never  feed  hogs  in  the  mud, 
as  some  do  ;  a  few  planks  on  which  to  feed  will  save  one-half 
the  corn.  I  find  that  clean,  dry  pens,  with  plenty  of  whole- 
some food,  given  at  proper  intervals,  never  fail  to  produce 
good  hogs.  My  experience  is,  that  dry  corn  is  better  for  fat- 
tening hogs  than  ground  or  cooked  feed,  which  is  recommended 
by  some.  For  young  pigs  the  latter  will  do  very  well,  but  for 
fattening  I  would  never  use  anything  but  dry  corn. 

HORSES. 

The  best  breed  of  horses,  according  to  my  experience,  for 
general  farm  work  is  the  best  of  the  common  stock.  These 
animals,  if  well  raised  and  taken  care  of,  are  not  clumsy,  awk- 
ward and  slow,  like  some  of  the  large  breeds,  but  are  spry, 
active,  strong,  durable,  easily  kept,  good  travelers  and  workers, 
and  make  very  serviceable  teams.  With  very  little  training, 
and  trimming  they  make  beautiful  carriage  horses. 

FRUIT. 

This  is  not  a  very  good  fruit  region,  and  only  the  hardiest 
kinds  of  common  fruits  can  be  raised,  therefore  it  does  not  pay 
to  grow  for  market.  I  have  an  orchard  large  enough  to  supply 


522  CLAYTON  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

my  family,  and  do  not  think  it  advisable  to  raise  more  than 
this.  When  the  seasons  are  favorable,  I  have  all  the  apples, 
grapes,  gooseberries,  currants  and  other  small  fruits  I  need.  I 
do  not  give  them  any  extra  care.  I  simply  keep  them  clean 
and  trimmed,  so  that  they  will  bear  as  well  as  possible,  and 
let  them  go  at  that. 

POULTRY. 

I  do  not  raise  turkeys,  geese,  and  ducks,  as  I  deem  them 
unprofitable,  except  for  home  use.  I  keep  enough  chickens 
to  consume  the  screenings  and  grain  that  get  scattered  about 
the  barn,  granary,  etc.  In  Summer  I  do  not  pay  much  at- 
tention to  them,  except  to  the  young  chickens.  These  I  keep 
in  coops,  and  feed  until  they  are  large  enough  to  take  care  of 
themselves.  In  Winter  I  have  a  warm  place  for  them  to  go 
into,  and  I  feed  them  when  the  weather  is  bad.  I  have  at 
present  a  cross  between  the  dark  Brahma  and  the  common 
fowl,  which  I  think  is  good,  for  they  are  very  good  layers,  are 
of  medium  size,  and  excellent  for  the  table. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

My  buildings  are  not  large,  commodious,  or  of  the  most 
approved  pattern,  but  I  am  making  them  so  as  fast  as  I  can.  I 
have  buildings  and  sheds  for  every  thing,  and  always  make  it  a 
point  to  have  all  implements  cleaned  and  housed  as  soon  as  I 
am  through  using  them.  I  always  have  a  year's  wood  ahead 
seasoning,  and  fill  my  woodhouse  with  dry  wood  every  Fall 
before  cold  weather  begins.  I  have  good  wells  of  water  near 
both  house  and  barn,  easy  of  access,  and  so  arranged  that  I 
can  water  every  thing  easily  and  rapidly.  My  farm  is  not  of 
the  very  best,  or  in  the  most  desirable  position,  but  I  can  make 
a  good  comfortable  living  from  it,  and  from  two  to  four  hun- 
dred dollars  a  year  besides.  Some  say  that  farming  does  not 
pay.  I  have  to  my  own  satisfaction  proved  it  otherwise,  and 
believe  every  farm  can  be  made  to  pay  a  reasonable  profit  with 
proper  care  and  attention. 

LAND. 

The  land  in  this  region  is  partly  prairie  and  partly  timber. 


LAND  —  CLIMATE.  523 

The  timber  land  requires  a  large  amount  of  labor  to  prepare 
it  for  the  plow.  The  land  is  rolling,  and  consists  of  a  clay 
soil,  interspersed  with  sandy  spots.  It  soon  dries  off  after 
heavy  rains,  and  is  easily  worked.  When  properly  eared  for 
and  tilled,  it  is  very  productive,  and  a  general  failure  of  any 
kind  of  crop  is  never  known.  I  am  never  troubled  with  any 
kind  of  insects,  except  chinch  bugs,  and  with  these  only  occa- 
sionally. 

THE  CLIMATE 

is  all  that  could  be  desired.  The  Summer  is  eight  to  nine 
months  long,  and  the  Winter  three  to  four  months.  We  do 
not  generally  get  a  very  large  amount  of  snow  in  Winter. 
Severe  storms  and  hurricanes  are  unknown,  and  we  very  sel- 
dom have  floods  that  do  any  damage  worth  noticing.  We 
have  an  abundance  of  good  springs,  and  water  can  be  had  by 
digging  from  ten  to  sixty  feet.  The  small  streams  furnish 
good  water  power  for  mills,  which  are  plenty,  and  an  abund- 
ance of  fresh  fish  for  general  use. 


524 


FRANKLIN  COUNTY,  IOWA. 


S.  A.  FRENCH, 

FAULKNER,  FRANKLIN  COUNTY. 

Management  of  Hogs  —  Corn   Husks   Valuable  —  Artichokes 
Self-Feeding  and  Watering  Fixtures  for  Stock. 

PLAN   OF  FARM. 

N 


W 


Hog 

Pasture 


I'niilic  Rcmd. 


1,  house ;  2,  barn ;  3,  granary ;  4,  shop ;  5,  corn  crib  and  hog  pens.     The 
dots  represent  trees. 

GENERAL    MANAGEMENT. 

My  farm  is  small,  and  contains  but  120  acres.     I  keep  eight 
cows,  a  few  head  of  young  cattle,  a  few  sheep,  two  spans  ot 


SELF -FEEDER  FOR  HOGS.  625 

work  horses,  and  generally  raise  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  hogs.  I  send  off  the  young  cattle  of  the  herd  every 
Summer.  I  have  a  pasture  for  my  cows,  one  for  the  calves, 
and  one  for  the  hogs.  Each  pasture  has  running  water,  and 
the  pastures  are  mostly  in  blue  grass  ;  but  some  are  in  timothy 
and  white  clover.  My  grass  land  that  I  cut  for  hay  is  red 
clover  and  timothy,  mixed. 

HOGS. 

I  raise  but  little  small  grain.  My  plowed  land  is  mostly 
planted  to  corn,  of  which  I  have  often  to  buy  to  keep  my  hogs 
till  the  grass  has  a  good  start.  I  feed  but  little  corn  after  grass 
comes,  until  I  commence  feeding  in  the  Fall.  I  do  not  believe 
in  letting  the  hogs  run  until  the  grass  is  up  nicely  in  the  Spring. 
I  have  a  field  of  red  Brazilian  artichokes  on  which  I  feed  my 
hogs  in  the  Fall  and  Spring,  with  excellent  results.  I  plant  a 
few  acres  of  sweet  corn  every  year  for  the  hogs.  I  commence 
to  cut  and  feed  stalks  and  corn  as  soon  as  the  latter  gets  into 
the  milk..  It  gives  the  hogs  a  good  start,  and  they  are  in  fine 
condition  to  fatten  with  the  other  corn  when  it  is  hard  and  gets 
dry  enough  to  shell. 

SELF-FEEDER. 

I  then  use  a  self-feeder  for  the  hogs.  This  feeder  is  a  long 
box  that  will  hold  three  or  four  loads  of  corn,  and  it  has  an 
opening  its  whole  length  at  the  bottom.  The  opening  is  so 
large  that  the  hogs  can  work  out  the  ears  of  corn,  and  can  feed 
whenever  they  feel  inclined.  I  have  the  box  on  a  floor  to  pre- 
vent the  hogs  from  scattering  the  corn  in  the  mud,  when  the 
ground  is  muddy.  I  think  it  poor  farming  to  feed  hogs  in  the 
dirt.  After  the  corn  gets  dry  enough  I  shell  all  my  corn  and 
grind  it  with  my  feed  mill.  This  mill  stands  in  one  corner  of 
the  corn  crib. 

HOG  PENS. 

The  hog  pens  are  joined  to  the  corn  crib.  The  feed  alley 
passes  through  one  of  the  cribs  into  the  driveway  between  the 
cribs-  I  use  movable  panels  for  the  partitions  to  the  breeding 
pen,  and  remove  them  when  the  pen  is  not  in  use. 


526 


FRANKLIN   COUNTY,  IOWA. 


CORN   CRIBS. 

My  corn  cribs  are  made  tight  on  the  outside,  so  that  no 
snow  or  rain  can  enter.  They  are  raised  two  feet  from  the 
ground.  The  bottom  of  the  cribs  are  made  of  fence  boards, 
laid  one  inch  apart,  so  that  the  air  has  free  circulation  through 
the  corn.  I  nail  the  boards  as  far  apart  as  I  can  and  have  them 
still  keep  the  corn  from  running  through.  My  cribs  are  twenty- 
four  feet  long,  eight  feet  wide,  measuring  inside,  and  ten  feet 
high  at  the  lowest  side.  Some  farmers  assert  that  corn  will 
spoil  in  such  cribs,  but  I  find  that  it  keeps  better  in  a  crib  made 
in  this  manner  than  it  does  in  open  cribs.  In  good  weather  we 
leave  the  doors  of  the  driveway  open  while  we  are  husking, 
but  in  stormy  weather  the  doors  are  closed.  This  prevents  the 
corn  getting  damp. 

GROUND  PLAN  OP  HOG  PEN  AND   CORN  CRIB. 

@-H-  Wind  Mill. 


8fT. 


Door. 

a  Corns. 

3 

Mo 
I  take 

V  A  B  L 

them 
for 

K     PA 

all   out. 
sows. 

UTIT1 

Only 

ONS. 

11  use 

DEIYETTAY. 

o 

1 

*•         FEED  ALLEY  BETWEEN  PEXS. 
** 
Front  of  pens  are  hung  so  as  to  swing  In  hack  of 
trough,  to  keep  li:ick  hogs  while  feeding. 

£    COEN. 

3 
rH 

8  It. 

Door. 

Rft. 

CORN  HUSKS 

make  a  splendid  bed  for  hogs,  and  I  snap  sufficient  corn  to  fur- 
nish them  with  bedding  through  the  Winter.     I  store  it  in  a 


PLAN  OF  GRANARY  AND  HOG  PEN. 


527 


The  roof  on  south  side  of  hog  pen  drops  fifteen  inches  lower  than  north 
side.  Boards  are  hung  on  hinges  so  they  can  he  raised  to  let  the  sun  into  the 
north  pens  over  the  south  roof,  and  under  eaves  of  south  roof  to  lot  sun  in 
south  pens. 


528 


FRANKLIN  COUNTY,  IOWA. 


crib  where  it  will  keep  dry,  and  give  the  hogs  a  few  baskets  of 
corn  in  the  husk  whenever  their  bed  needs  renewing.  The 
cobs  will  do  no  harm.  Husks  do  not  break  up  as  straw,  and 
remain  dry  very  much  longer.  My  hogs  are  a  cross  of  the 
Poland  China  with  the  Berkshire.  My  cattle  and  hogs  go  to 
the  creek  to  drink  until  it  freezes.  Then  I  use  a  windmill  to 
pump  water  for  them  till  the  following  Spring. 


WINDMILL. 

I  pump  water  for  the  cattle  from  a  well  that  is  sunk  several 
rods  from  the  mill.  I  use  fence  wire  from  the  windmill  to  the 
pump,  in  the  manner  designated  by  the  sketch.  As  the  pump 
pole  works  up  and  down  to  the  mill,  it  works  a  T  at  the  mill 
attached  to  wires.  There  is  a  similar  T  at  the  other  pump, 
and  both  are  worked  together. 

BARN. 

My  barn  has  no  driveway  made  for  wagon.  I  put  my  hay 
in  through  windows  large  enough  for  using  the  hay-fork.  I  tie 

O  O  O  O  J 

the  cows  in  stanchions  three  feet  from  the  center.  The  floor 
slants  back  a  little,  and  a  slope  of  two  inches  is  given  behind  the 
cows,  so  that  their  floor  is  kept  dry. 


PLAN  OF  BARN,  GRANARY  AND  SHED 


529 


N. 


OWeil. 

d 

I    III 
s    *  I  s 

Door. 

« 

H 

Door  into  yard. 

•^ 

M 

| 

Door.                    Door. 

Cow  Stable,  to  tie  up  8  Cows. 

1 

Alley. 

a 

..    d 

t*     CO 

<o 

J                      p 

•<      M 

0                       0 

B    » 

5f 

3                »' 

HAY.    16r24.                               £ 

^                A 

— 

2 

< 

B 

o 

H 

Door. 


Door. 


S. 

GEANABY. 

N. 


OWeU. 


GRAIN 

BINS. 

d 

E 

_c 

S 

S 

^ 

Alley. 

Door. 

S 

h 

1 

GRAIN 

BINS. 

rt 

34 


530 


BLACKHAWK  COUNTY,  IOWA. 


My  buildings  are  well  sheltered  from  wind,  by  artificial 
groves  of  cottonwood  and  soft  maple,  with  a  few  rows  of  birch, 
larch,  and  Norway  spruce.  I  have  four  acres  of  grass.  I  have 
a  young  orchard  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  apple  trees  which 
are  just  coming  into  bearing. 


W.  H.  COLBURN, 

WATERLOO,   BLACKHAWK   COUNTY. 
Plan  of  a  Hog  Barn,  at  Lester,  Blackhawk  County. 

I  consider  this  hog  barn  as  near  perfection  as  possible.  A 
boiler  occupies  one  corner,  having  a  water  tank  and  steamer,  in 
which  to  cook  feed,  set  in  an  arch. 


DoorlFront  of  the  Trough 


The  tank  is  connected  by  a  pipe  to  a  windmill  pump,  so 
that  water  can  be  run  into  the  tank,  boiler,  or  troughs,  at  will. 
The  troughs  run  the  whole  length  of  the  pens,  on  each  side  of 
the  alley.  The  pens  are  double,  and  the  front  part  or  section 
is  used  for  feeding,  and  the  rear  opens  into  the  yard  for  the 
removal  of  the  offal,  which  is  easily  cleaned  out  by  throwing 
it  through  the  small  door  below  the  space  marked  "  Open." 
The  door  front  of  the  trough  is  hung  by  a  round  tenon  at 


DESCRIPTION  OF  HOG  BARN.  531 

each  end,  and  is  made  fast  by  a  pin.  It  can  be  swung  back 
over  the  trough,  crowding  the  hogs  back,  so  they  can  not 
get  into  the  trough  when  being  fed.  The  hogs  lie  in  the  outer 
pens  much  of  the  time  and  only  come  into  the  feeding  part  to  be 
fed,  so  that  that  section  is  kept  clean  at  all  times.  The  pens  are 
connected  with  doors ;  thus  the  hogs  can  be  removed  from  one 
section  to  another,  readily.  At  one  end  of  the  building  is  a 
shute  for  loading  hogs  into  wagons  when  carried  to  market.  The 
whole  is  covered  with  dressed  stuff,  painted,  and  has  a  good 
shingled  roof. 


JOHN  WINTER, 

WESTCHESTER,   WASHINGTON  COUNTY. 

Stone     Quarry  —  Osage  —  Stone    Barn  —  Maples    for     Wind- 
Breaks —  Corn —  G-rass  —  Stock  and  Drainage. 

My  farm  is  situated  in  Washington  county,  about  ten 
miles  northwest  of  Washington,  the  county  town,  and  four 
miles  north  of  Westchester,  a  station  on  the  Sigourney  branch 
of  the  Chicago  &  Rock  Island  and  Missouri  River  railroad.  It 
contains  eight  hundred  acres,  of  which  seven  hundred  and 
thirty  acres  are  prairie,  and  the  remainder  timber,  situated  two 
and  a  half  miles  from  the  prairie.  This  timber  is  a  beautiful 
undergrowth  of  oak  and  hickory.  I  have  also  a  very  valuable 
stone  quarry  situated  in  my  timber. 

My  prairie  land  is  of  the  richest  quality  of  Iowa  loam,, 
and  is  well  adapted  to  grain  or  grass.  One  hundred  and  fifty 
acres  are  of  the  finest  quality  of  meadow  land ;  the  remainder 
are  superior  for  grain  or  pasture  —  probably  as  good  soil  as 
eastern  Iowa  affords.  The  farm  is  bounded  by  a  public  road 
on  the  north  and  east,  and  is  divided  in  the  center  by  a  road 
running  north  and  south  from  Wellman  Station  to  West- 
Chester. 

The  land  lying  west  of  the  road  is  just  three-fourths  of  a 
mile  square.  That  portion  on  the  east  side  is  one  mile  long 


532  WASHINGTON  COUNTY,  IOWA. 

and  one-half  a  mile  wide,  except  eighty  acres,  which  extends 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  farther  east.  A  very  beautiful  brook  runs 
through  the  eastern  end  of  the  farm,  furnishing  an  abundance 
of  pure  spring  water  for  my  stock,  Winter  and  Summer,  as  it 
never  dries  up  or  freezes. 

BUILDINGS. 

My  buildings  are  situated  in  the  center  of  the  farm,  on 
the  road  running  north  and  south.  My  house  was  built  in 
1866,  at  a  cost  of  nine  thousand  dollars,  after  the  gothic  style, 
with  thirteen  rooms  conveniently  arranged,  and  with  every 
convenience  calculated  to  make  home  comfortable.  It  is  sit- 
uated on  an  eminence,  with  a  large  and  commodious  yard 
filled  with  varieties  of  evergreens  of  large  growth,  as  also  a 
variety  of  other  shrubs  and  plants  of  magnificent  proportions. 
I  have  a  goodly  supply  of  fruit,  such  as  apples,  pears,  plums, 
grapes,  cherries,  currants,  and  strawberries.  Last  but  not 
least,  the  farm  has  about  ten  miles  of  well  grown  Osage  fence, 
capable  of  turning  all  kinds  of  stock. 

A   STONE  BAKN. 

My  barn  is  situated  on  the  east  side  of  the  road,  opposite 
the  house.  It  is  forty  by  fifty  feet,  and  built  of  the  best  stone. 
Connected  therewith  are  granaries  and  corn  cribs  sufficient  to 
store  several  thousand  bushels  of  grain.  Near  my  horse,  cat- 
tle, and  grain  barn,  I  have  a  hog  barn,  thirty-two  by  thirty-two 
feet.  The  first  story  is  of  stone,  with  corn  cribs  above.  This 
barn  I  provided  especially  for  my  brood  sows  when  they  have 
young,  and  it  has  proved  just  the  thing  for  sows  and  pigs.  By 
means  of  this  barn  I  can  save  about  all  the  pigs  dropped  at 
any  season  of  the  year.  My  buildings,  yards,  and  orchard,  are 
•all  surrounded  by  a  maple  grove,  sixty  feet  high,  about  eighty 
rods  long  on  the  west,  eighty  rods  on  the  north,  and  eighty 
rods  on  the  east,  forming  almost  a  hollow  square. 

CORN   AND   GRASS. 

I  am  engaged  in  raising  corn  and  grass.  It  costs  me  about 
eight  cents  per  bushel  to  cultivate  and  harvest  my  corn.  I 


STOCK  —  HORSES  —  DRAINAGE.  530 

convert  it  nearly  all  into  beef  and  pork,  realizing  from  twenty 
to  sixty  cents  per  bushel.  My  experience  in  grass  is  that  the 
older  the  sward  the  better  for  grazing.  Blue  grass  and  white 
clover  are  my  choicest  varieties  of  grass  for  grazing  purposes. 
Timothy  and  red  clover  prove  the  best  varieties  for  meadow.  I 
harrow  in  early  Spring,  and  top  dress  with  manure.  This  is 
what  meadows  need  in  this  section  of  Iowa. 

STOCK. 

I  have  found  that  the  best  breeds  of  cattle  for  beef  are 
Short-Horns.  The  best  breed  of  hogs,  in  my  judgment,  is  the 
Poland  China,  which  I  grow  quite  extensively.  I  like  to  have 
my  pigs  come  in  April  and  May,  and  the  January  following  I 
market  them,  when  they  weigh  from  two  hundred  and  forty  to 
three  hundred  pounds.  I  do  not  Winter  any  but  brood  sows. 

HORSES. 

As  to  horses  for  all  purposes,  I  am  in  favor  of  the  Mam- 
brinos.  I  think,  with  reference  to  rearing,  that  most  of  our 
colts  in  the  West  get  too  much  grain.  I  have  for  the  past  sev- 
eral Winters  allowed  my  colts  to  run  on  pasture,  giving 
them  but  little  feed.  I  find  that  they  grow  and  develop  bet- 
ter than  when  they  are  kept  on  higher  feed,  and  in  the  end 
make  hardier  horses  and  have  much  greater  endurance.  I 
approve  of  early  breaking.  By  the  time  they  are  three  years 
old,  I  want  my  colts  well  accustomed  to  the  harness,  but  do 
not  work  those  intended  for  farming  and  draught  purposes  too 
long  to  a  light  buggy  before  teaching  them  to  draw  a  load. 

MOLE  AND  TILE  DRAINAGE. 

My  experience  in  drainage,  especially  in  underdraining, 
is  that  farmers  can  not  place  too  high  an  estimate  on  that  kind 
of  work.  I  have  now  about  three  thousand  rods  of  mole 
drainage  on  my  farm,  and  find  from  practical  demonstration 
that  no  money  invested  on  the  farm  pays  better.  But  I  recom- 
mend by  all  means  tile  drainage,  it  being  much  more  durable 
and  not  liable  to  obstruction. 


MINNESOTA. 


E.  T.  WAY, 

CLAKEMONT,  DODGE  COUNTY. 

The  Soil  Well  Adapted  to  Mixed  Husbandry  —  Spring  Wheat — 
Fall  Plowing  a  Necessity  —  Stock  —  Pasture  and  Meadows — 
Clover. 

My  farm  is  situated  on  the  head  waters  of  the  Azumbro 
river,  three  miles  from  one  of  the  flourishing  villages  on  the 
Winona  and  St.  Peter  railroad.  A  fine  stream  of  never-failing- 
water  crosses  it  from  west  to  east.  Bordering  this  creek,  and 
on  either  side  of  it,  are  the  finest  natural  grass  meadows  to  be 
found  in  the  county,  while  the  upland,  although  perfectly  dry 
and  friable,  is  but  a  few  feet  above  the  level  of  the  meadows, 
making  the  farm  remarkably  even  and  easy  to  work,  there 
being  no  up-hill  draughts  or  side-hill  inconveniences  to  hinder 
operations.  It  embraces  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  one 
hundred  and  ten  of  which  are  good,  dry,  easily-cultivated 
plow  land,  and  forty  to  fifty  acres  beautiful  grass  meadow. 

The  land  was  originally  covered  with  burr  oak,  and 
several  of  the  ancient  trees  are  j*et  to  be  seen  on  different 
parts  of  the  farm.  The  soil  is  composed  of  black,  sandy  loam, 
thirty  inches  deep,  sufficiently  light  and  open  to  never  bake  ; 
while  under  the  black  soil,  for  two  feet  deep,  is  yellowish  earth, 
compact  and  hard,  but  without  the  sticky,  impervious  character 
of  clay.  Below  this  latter  is  coarse  sand  and  gravel  to  an 
unknown  depth.  Twelve  feet  below  the  surface  is  water.  As 
may  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  description,  the  farm  is  well 
adapted  to  mixed  husbandry,  or  grain  growing  combined  with 
the  raising  of  stock.  The  latter  plan  is  the  one  I  have  adopted. 

534 


WHEAT  —  POTATOES  —  MELONS.  535 

WHEAT. 

In  preparing  land  for  Spring  wheat,  I  make  it  a  point  to 
•do  all  the  plowing  possible  before  the  frost  has  killed  the  grass 
and  weeds,  as  the  best  results  are  obtained  by  turning  these 
under  green.  I  thus  secure,  to  a  certain  extent,  the  benefits 
of  a  green  manure,  while  another  advantage  is  realized,  viz. : 
The  weed  seeds  sprout  earlier,  and  the  growth  is  subsequently 
killed  by  frost. 

FALL  PLOWING 

for  Spring  wheat  is  a  necessity  ;  for  the  latter  requires  a  fine 
tilth  and  a  compact  bed.  The  first  of  these  is  secured  by  the 
action  of  the  frost  and  sun  upon  the  bare,  upturned  soil,  while 
the  second  is  produced  by  the  packing  tendency  of  the  storms 
and  snows  of  Winter. 

If  small  grain  must  be  sown  on  Spring  plowing,  I  prefer 
to  sow  oats  rather  than  wheat. 

I  do  but  little  with  corn,  as  a  market  product,  and  raise 
only  about  what  is  needed  to  feed  on  the  farm. 

POTATOES. 

I  have  had  success  for  five  years  in  growing  potatoes.  I 
select  the  newest  land  available,  and  seed  light,  cutting  my 
seed  so  that  there  shall  be  not  more  than  two  eyes  on  a  piece. 
I  then  plow  a  light  furrow  with  a  large  single-shovel  corn 
plow,  and  drop  one  piece  in  a  place,  about  eighteen  inches 
apart.  As  soon  as  the  potatoes  begin  to  show  above  the 
ground,  they  are  hoed,  and  when  about  twelve  inches  high 
they  are  hilled  up. 

MELONS. 

I  have  had  remarkable  success  with  vines,  such  as  melons, 
squash,  and  cucumbers,  and  I  get  it  in  this  way :  I  open  a  hole, 
where  each  hill  is  to  be,  large  enough  to  hold  two  shovelfuls 
of  manure.  I  fill  this  with  good  manure,  leveling  off  and 
covering  with  one  inch  of  dirt.  On  this  I  plant  the  seed, 
taking  care  to  put  in  enough  seed  in  each  hill  to  make  allow- 
ance for  loss  by  bugs  and  worms.  When  the  plants  are  well 
out  of  the  ground,  I  go  over  them  all,  stirring  up  the  ground 


536  DODGE  COUNTY,  MINNESOTA. 

and  passing  my  fingers  among  the  plants,  loosening  the  dirt 
around  each  stem,  removing  the  crust  if  any  has  formed,  and 
replacing  with  fresh,  moist  earth.  This  will  disturb  the  striped 
bug  and  give  the  vines  a  good  start.  Frequent  hoeing  after- 
ward is  all  that  is  required. 

CABBAGE. 

In  raising  cabbages  I  have  found  that  in  addition  to  the 
frequent  stirring  of  the  ground,  it  is  an  excellent  plan  to  occa- 
sionally sprinkle  a  pinch  of  salt  over  each  head.  It  will  keep 
the  cabbage  worm  from  doing  damage,  and  add  much  to  the 
number  and  quality  of  the  heads  produced. 

STOCK. 

In  raising  stock,  of  course,  one  of  the  chief  considerations 
is  the  growing  of  grass,  both  for  pasture  and  hay.  In  this 
northern  climate  where  the  Winters  are  so  long  and  severe,  the 
latter  is  especially  important.  I  have  unusual  facilities  for 
cutting  wild  hay,  which  for  wintering  stock  I  consider  in 
some  respects  even  superior  to  tame.  If  cut  early  and  well 
cured  it  is  clean,  free  from  dust,  sweet  and  nutritious.  And  I 
believe  that  cattle  and  horses  (the  latter  particularly)  kept 
upon  the  wild  hay,  are  more  healthy  and  less  liable  to  disease 
than  those  wintered  on  timothy  and  clover. 

MEADOWS. 

I  was  told  by  Western  men,  when  I  first  commenced  cut- 
ting my  meadows,  that  they  would  soon  run  out,  and  in  a  few 
years  would  hardly  be  worth  cutting.  This  has  proved  to  be 
the  case,  where  the  old  plan  of  cutting  the  sloughs  the  last  of 
August  or  first  of  September,  was  practiced,  or  where  the 
cattle  were  allowed  to  run  upon  and  feed  down  the  second 
growth.  My  practice  has  always  been  to  commence  cutting 
my  wild  grass  by  the  fifth  or  sixth  of  Juiy,  and  thus  have  my 
haying  out  of  the  way  before  the  harvesting  of  grain  began.  Of 
course  quite  a  heavy  second  growth  will  be  produced  before 
frost.  This  I  never  allow  the  cattle  to  feed  upon  ;  nor  do  I 
permit  it  to  be  burned  off  in  the  Fall.  The  result  is  that  a 


PASTURE  —  CLOVER.  537 

heavy  mulch  is  secured  for  the  protection  of  the  roots  of  the 
grass,  and  Winter  killing  or  freezing  out  never  occurs.  Then 
in  the  Spring,  before  the  new  grass  has  made  much  progress, 
the  fire  is  made  to  run  over  the  meadows  and  every  thing 
burned  off,  leaving  the  ground  clean  and  free  from  obstructions 
to  the  mowing  machines,  while  the  ashes  act  as  a  stimulating 
fertilizer  to  quicken  the  growth  and  keep  up  the  yield  from 
year  to  year. 

PASTURE. 

But  for  pasturing,  and  for  hay  also,  on  most  farms,  timo- 
thy is  needed,  or  other  tame  grasses.  I  have  been  very  suc- 
cessful in  producing  good  timothy  pasture  on  unbroken  prairie 
sod,  by  sowing  the  seed  upon  the  last  snow  in  the  Spring.  In 
fact,  I  have  never  failed  to  get  a  good  catch  in  this  way.  The 
melting  of  the  snow,  and  the  freezing  and  thawing  of  the 
ground,  moisten  and  cover  the  seed,  putting  it  in  the  best  con- 
dition for  growing. 

In  seeding  old  land  with  timothy,  I  have  had  success  by  mix- 
ing the  seed  with  the  grain  in  the  seed  box  (using  the  broad- 
cast seeder).  It  is  easy  to  determine  the  amount  of  grass 
seed  needed  to  each  bushel  of  grain  put  in  the  seeder.  By 
this  means  I  am  able  to  get  the  seed  in  more  evenly  than  I 
could  by  hand  sowing. 

In  a  country  like  this,  where  wheat  raising  is  the  principal 
business,  and  where  comparatively  little  manure  is  made,  it  is 
necessary  that  some  method  of  fertilizing  be  adopted  other 
than  the  hauling  of  barn-yard  manure  on  the  land. 

CLOVER. 

I  have  commenced  growing  clover  to  be  plowed  under  as 
a  green  manure,  but  have  not  had  sufficient  experience  to  be 
able  to  give  definite  results.  We  have  no  clover  huller  in  this 
community,  but  I  have  secured  good  results  in  growing  clover 
by  sowing  the  seed  in  the  chaff  after  having  threshed  the 
straw  by  hand  with  an  old-fashioned  flail.  I  am  not  certain 
but  the  catch  is  more  sure  than  by  sowing  the  clean  seed, 


538  WRIGHT  COUNTY,  MINNESOTA. 

especially  if  the  ground  is  dry.  The  chaff  seems  to  hold  the 
moisture,  and  the  seed  sprouts  more  readily  than  when  sown 
clean. 

This  region  is  largely  given  to  wheat  growing.  Hence  I 
have  done  but  little  in  the  way  of  improving  my  stock  by  the 
use  of  blooded  animals.  But  I  realize  that  this  matter  must 
claim  immediate  attention,  and  must  take  a  more  prominent 
place  in  the  farm  management  in  the  near  future,  or  the  land 
will  deteriorate  from  constant  cropping  to  wheat. 


J.   OAKES, 

CLEARWATER,  WRIGHT  COUNTY. 

A  Cheap  Stable  and  Pig  Pen. 

This  is  my  plan  of  cheap  stable  and  pig  pen  where  I  stall 
feed  cattle  during  the  Winter  and  utilize  pigs  for  working  the 
waste  and  the  manure. 

A  A  are  the  stables  ten  feet  by  forty,  clear  of  feed  boxes. 
B  B  feed  boxes  two  feet  by  four.  C  C  two  by  four  scantling 
for  car  track  extending  from  stable  to  corn  stacks.  D  D 
passage  for  feed  car.  H  H  two  pig  pens,  eight  by  ten,  built 
with  flat  roofs  leaning  against  end  of  stables.  X  X  door 
to  pig  pens.  K  K  door  to  stables.  O  pump.  Water  is  plenti- 
fully carried  through  in  front  of  the  cattle  by  spouts. 

Floor  is  only  long  enough  for  stock  to  stand  on,  and  ele- 
vated so  offal  will  fall  away  from  under  the  hind  feet,  which 
after  being  worked  and  gleaned  by  the  swine  is  thrown  through 
slide  windows  in  the  back  of  stables  to  the  wagon  and  hauled 
to  the  field  for  dressing.  Some  of  our  best  and  most  success- 
ful feeders  have  built  on  this  plan,  only  they  stand  their 
stock  head  to  the  outside  wall  of  stable  and  feed  by  hand, 
carrying  the  feed  on  the  fork  and  putting  it  through  drop  doors 


PLAN  OF  STABLE  AND  PIG  PEN. 


539 


i 

H 

P 

LAN  NO. 
D 

C          C 
D 

1. 

H 

A 

I 

B 

B 

A 

i 

B 

B 

B 

B 

B 

540 


HOUSTON  COUNTY,  MINNESOTA. 


into  the  feed  boxes,  leaving  space  to  drive  the  wagon  through 
the  center  to  remove  the  manure. 


PLAN  No.  2.— SECTION  OP  END. 


JOHN  S.  HARRIS  &  SON, 

LA  CRESCENT,  HOUSTON  COUNTY. 

A  Fruit  and  Vegetable  Farm — Commenced  ivith  Nothing  and 
Poor  Health  —  Noiv  the  Owners  of  a  Beautiful  Home  — 
Greenhouse  —  Museum  and  Cabinet. 

A  FRUIT  AND  VEGETABLE  FARM. 

My  farm  consists  of  forty  acres,  the  soil  varying  from  light 
sandy  loam  to  the  richest  black  alluvial,  a  deep,  clayey  loam 
predominating.  It  includes  nearly  the  whole  of  the  tillable 
land  in  what  is  here  termed  a  small  cooley,  or  it  is  rather  a  side 
pocket  or  branch  of  a  large  cooley,  great  numbers  of  which 
are  found  among  the  bluffs  bordering  all  the  streams  and  rivers 


NOBLENESS  OF  AGRICULTURAL  PURSUITS.  541 

in  southeastern  Minnesota.  My  place  is  located  about  two 
miles  from  the  Mississippi  river,  and  five  miles  northwest  from 
La  Crosse,  Wisconsin,  at  which  place  I  find  my  principal  mar- 
ket. The  farm  lies  to  the  southeast.  About  fifteen  acres  of 
my  land  may  be  styled  level,  and  about  equal  parts  of  the 
remainder  are  hill  sides,  sloping  to  the  southeast  and  northeast, 
making  it  naturally  adapted  for  a  fruit  farm  and  garden,  the 
high  bluffs  surrounding  it  proving  protections  from  the  north 
and  west  winds,  and  giving  a  temperature  in  Winter  several 
degrees  milder  than  in  unsheltered  locations.  This  fact  makes 
it  possible  to  raise  a  great  variety  of  crops. 

WHEN  SETTLED. 

I  came  to  this  State  in  June,  1856,  a  poor  man,  with  health 
impaired  from  exposure  and  privations  endured  in  the  Mexican 
war.  I  purchased  the  place  and  set  about  improving  it,  with 
the  full  determination  of  making  it  a  pleasant  and  attractive 
home.  I  had  barely  means  to  make  a  small  payment  on  the 
land  (paying  twelve  per  cent,  interest  several  years  on  two 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars),  purchase  a  cheap  horse  and  cow, 
and  erect  a  small  board  shanty  to  shelter  my  family,  depending 
upon  the  labor  of  my  hands  for  whatever  more  I  hoped  to 
make.  I  expended  the  larger  part  of  the  profits  of  my  business 
in  making  improvements  of  a  permanent  character.  My  son 
and  I  have  always  felt  that  there  was  true  dignity  in  labor,  but 
have  never  lost  sight  of  the  fact  that  man  is  something  more 
than  a  mere  machine,  that  he  has  a  mind  that  requires  food 
and  cultivation  in  order  that  he  may  look  back  over  the  years 
of  his  life  and  feel  that  he  has  not  lived  in  vain. 

AGRICULTURAL  PURSUITS   NOBLE. 

Agriculture  is  an  art  and  a  science,  the  individual  the 
artist,  the  science  consisting  in  the  combined  experience  of 
the  most  successful  men  of  the  present  and  past  ages.  To 
avail  myself  of  the  benefit  of  science,  I  have  been  a  regular 
subscriber  and  constant  reader  of  several  agricultural  and 
horticultural  periodicals,  and  a  purchaser  of  the  best  books 
bearing  upon  my  business,  and  my  library  now  contains  ov-er 


542  HOUSTON  COUNTY,  MINNESOTA. 

two  hundred  volumes  of  agricultural,  scientific  and  literary 
works. 

THE  RESULT. 

Twenty-three  years  have  passed,  and  I  now  have 
ample  buildings  for  a  farm  of  this  size,  viz:  a  frame  dwelling 
house  for  a  family  of  ten  persons,  with  stone  cellar  twenty  by 
thirty-four  feet  underneath ;  a  barn,  twenty  by  thirty  feet,  of 
two  stories  with  stone  basement  of  same  size  underneath,  used 
as  a  stable  for  cows  in  Winter.  I  have  a  poultry  house  and 
pig-pen ;  greenhouse,  fourteen  by  fifty  feet,  and  a  neat  frame 
building,  sixteen  by  twenty-four,  used  as  a  museum  and 
cabinet,  with  an  addition  for  storing  hot-bed  sash,  tools,  boxes, 
etc.,  when  not  in  use. 

WATERING  FACILITIES. 

I  have  wells  and  cisterns  providing  an  ample  supply  of 
water.  I  have  at  present  ten  or  twelve  acres  planted  to  fruit 
trees,  chiefly  apple ;  two  and  a  half  acres  in  grape  vines,  one 
acre  in  full  bearing,  and  one-half  of  the  remainder  to  be 
in  bearing  next  season ;  one  acre  of  raspberries,  three-fourths 
of  them  Black  Caps :  one  acre  of  strawberries ;  one-half 
acre  of  currants ;  same  of  asparagus  ;  and  about  fifteen  acres 
devoted  to  the  growing  of  vegetables  for  market,  and  corn  and 
roots  for  stock.  About  one  acre  is  occupied  with  buildings 
and  yards,  and  about  seven  acres  still  remain  unimproved,  being 
well  timbered  with  a  young  growth  of  oak,  the  thinnings  of 
which  I  use  for  fuel,  grape  stakes  and  bean  poles. 

STOCK. 

I  keep  one  span  of  horses,  four  cows,  four  hogs,  and  from 
fifty  to  one  hundred  hens.  I  feed  stock  from  forage  produced 
upon  my  place,  adding  about  five  tons  of  hay,  and  a  few  tons 
of  bran  and  shorts.  This  amount  of  stock  furnishes  about  all 
the  manure  required  to  keep  the  land  in  good  condition  for  the 
kind  of  crops  I  raise,  and  for  the  construction  of  hot  beds,  with 
the  addition  of  about  one  hundred  loads  procured  in  the  village 
a  mile  distant,  and  which  I  haul  in  the  Winter.  My  horses  I 
stall  the  whole  year,  and  feed  them  during  the  Summer  upon 


PASTURE  —  BUTTER  —  HOGS.  543 

grass  cut  upon  the  place,  in  the  orchard  and  other  patches  not 
in  cultivation.  During  the  Autumn  and  early  Winter  I  give 
them  corn  fodder  and  hay,  also  moderate  feeds  of  grain,  morn- 
ing and  evening. 

PASTURE. 

My  cows  are  led  to  pasture  on  adjoining  unimproved  lands 
every  day  from  about  the  twentieth  of  May  to  the  first  of  Sep- 
tember, and  taken  in  and  yarded  every  night,  receiving  morning 
and  evening  a  liberal  feed  of  bran  or  shorts,  or  of  cabbage 
leaves,  green  corn  fodder,  or  unsalable  vegetables.  I  Winter 
them  chiefly  upon  corn  fodder  and  roots  or  bran,  varied  with 
hay,  two  or  three  times  a  week,  and  allow  them  free  access  to 
a  straw  stack,  which  is  provided  for  clean  bedding,  and  costs 
but  little  more  than  the  trouble  of  hauling  it  half  a  mile.  My 
cows  are  the  'best  I  can  procure  of  the  native  breeds,  and  are 
kept  in  such  good  condition  that  they  yield  from  eight  to 
twelve  pounds  of  butter  per  week,  more  than  half  of  the  year. 

BUTTER. 

The  surplus  which  I  have  over  what  is  needed  in  the 
family,  I  sell  at  the  highest  market  price,  and  it  more  than  pays 
for  the  actual  expense  of  feed.  I  fatten  calves  for  the  butcher, 
except  an  occasional  heifer  which  I  raise  to  take  the  place  of  a 
cow  that  is  getting  too  old  for  profit. 

HOGS. 

I  usually  fatten  from  two  to  four,  seldom  allowing  them  to 
become  more  than  one  year  old.  I  buy  young  pigs  in  prefer- 
ence to  raising  them,  but  am  now  keeping  a  good  breeding  sow, 
expecting  to  derive  some  revenue  from  the  sale  of  pigs.  I  feed 
upon  the  sour  milk,  waste  fruit  and  melons,  and  the  sweet  corn 
that  is  unfit  for  market ;  thus  they  are  no  actual  expense,  but 
furnish  bacon  and  lard  for  the  family.  I  do  not  allow  them  to 
run  at  large.  My  favorite  hog  is  the  Berkshire. 

POULTRY. 

Aside  from  the  value  of  their  manure  and  the  aid  rendered 
in  destroying  noxious  insects,  which  poultry  affords,  I  derive 


644  HOUSTON  COUNTY,  MINNESOTA. 

but  little  profit  from  this  branch  of  our  business.  They  are 
allowed  a  free  range  of  the  place  at  most  seasons  of  the  vear, 
and  frequently  do  some  damage  to  the  fruit  and  vegetable 
crops.  I  keep  from  fifty  to  eighty  of  the  earliest  hatched 
pullets  over  Winter,  as  such  are  the  best  Winter  layers,  selling 
the  extra  eggs  until  time  for  setting  in  the  Spring.  After  from 
one  to  two  hundred  chickens  are  hatched  out,  I  reduce  the  flock 
to  about  twenty  of  the  best,  selling  the  remainder.  The  male 
chicks  I  send  to  market  as  soon  as  they  are  fit  for  broiling. 

THE   GREENHOUSE. 

I  have  a  greenhouse  for  the  propagation  of  flowers  and 
ornamental  plants  for  market.  In  past  years  it  has  paid 
very  well,  but  owing  to  the  increase  of  my  other  business  I 
shall  merely  use  it  hereafter  to  keep  and  furnish  plants  and 
flowers  for  my  own  use,  and  for  the  starting  of  early  tomato 
and  other  vegetable  plants,  propagating  for  sale  only  sufficient 
bedding  plants  to  pay  running  expenses. 

THE  MUSEUM  AND   CABINET. 

This  institution  is  not  designed  as  a  direct  source  of  reve- 
nue, but  for  my  own  pleasure  and  benefit  in  pursuing  the  study 
of  natural  science  and  for  the  entertainment  of  visitors  and 
friends.  It  now  contains  a  very  good  collection  of  insects, 
injurious  and  otherwise,  two  hundred  specimens  of  stuffed  and 
preserved  birds,  native  to  this  State,  and  twenty  specimens  of 
the  smaller  wild  animals  found  here.  We  are  now  engaged  in 
making  a  collection  of  the  woods  and  woody  plants  found  in 
this  State,  and  shall  add  departments  of  grains,  grasses,  min- 
erals, etc.  The  money  expense,  aside  from  building  and  cases, 
has  not  been  very  great,  as  we  are  our  own  collectors  and 
taxidermists. 

THE   ORCHARD. 

This  branch  of  my  business  has  not  been  as  profitable  as 
I  could  have  wished  The  field  was  an  untried  one,  and  I 
expected  failures  and  disappointments.  The  soil  was  new  and 


THE   ORCHARD.  545 

most  of  the  varieties  of  trees  had  their  origin  in  climates  far 
different  from  ours.  I  was  at  the  mercy  of  unscrupulous  agents, 
and  the  long  time  taken  in  transit  from  the  distant  nurseries 
often  brought  me  my  trees  in  very  bad  condition ;  but  I  can 
look  back  and  feel  that  I  am  making  progress.  I  procured  the 
first  dozen  trees  from  Rochester,  New  York,  June  14,  1857, 
one  month  too  late  for  successful  planting.  Four  of  them  are 
still  living,  and  produced  the  first  apples  ever  shown  at  a  fair 
in  the  State.  In  the  Spring  of  1859,  I  planted  fifty  more 
apple  trees,  obtained  from  a  nursery  in  Illinois,  but  three  or 
four  of  which  survived  long  enough  to  produce  fruit.  Every 
Spring  since  I  have  added  to  the  extent  of  the  orchard  and 
replaced  such  as  died  out.  I  have  tested  more  than  one 
hundred  and  fifty  varieties,  and  have  at  this  time  about  forty 
doing  reasonably  well.  The  Winter  of  1872  and  1873,  was 
very  disastrous,  entirely  killing  one-third  of  the  trees,  root 
and  branch,  and  seriously  injuring  another  third,  so  that  at  this 
time  my  orchard  is  composed  largely  of  young  trees  not  in  full 
bearing.  The  annual  receipts  for  the  past  five  j-ears  have  been 
from  four  to  six  hundred  dollars.  My  best  apples  average  near 
one  dollar  a  bushel,  and  Transcendent  crabs  forty  cents  per 
bushel.  Windfalls  and  inferior  qualities  I  convert  into  vine- 
gar. This  year  I  saved  six  barrels  (three  hundred  gallons) 
of  pure  apple  juice.  For  two  years  my  crop  has  been  lessened 
by  late  frosts.  I  set  my  trees  inland  previously  used  for  grow- 
ing other  crops,  twenty  to  twenty-five  feet  distant  each  way. 
I  crop  the  ground  between  them  with  potatoes,  melons,  beans, 
or  other  early  maturing  crops,  for  two  or  three  years.  I  then 
follow  with  strawberries,  and  then  grass.  I  have  had  the  best 
success  with  Duchess  of  Oldenburgh,  Red  Astrachan,  St.  Law- 
rence, Fameuse  and  Tallman  Sweet,  and  the  Walbridge,  a  late 
keeper;  all  promise  well.  My  great  hope  of  final  success  is  in 
varieties  that  originate  from  seed  here. 

THE   VINEYARD. 

I  commenced  growing  grapes  about  the  year  18G3,  plant- 
ing one  acre  of  the  leading  and  popular  varieties,  purchasing 

35 


546  HOUSTON  COUNTY,  MINNESOTA. 

many  of  them  at  exorbitant  prices.  The  Winter  of  1872  and 
1873,  wrought  wholesale  destruction,  and  I  at  once  commenced 
anew,  raising  my  own  plants  from  cuttings,  and  making  the 
Concord  and  Delaware  the  base  of  operations.  I  have  the 
newer  varieties  on  trial,  but  do  not  intend  to  expend  large 
sums  for  uncertainties.  I  have  one  acre  in  full  bearing,  which 
produced  this  year  seven  thousand  pounds  (three  and  one-half' 
tons),  and  I  sold  them  at  an  average  of  six  and  one-half  cents 
per  pound.  My  vineyard  is  planted  upon  what  I  consider  the 
poorest  soil  there  is  for  any  other  purpose.  The  land  slopes 
strongly  to  the  south,  and  is  sheltered  from  north  winds  by  high 
grounds  or  bluffs.  My  method  of  planting  a  vineyard  is  to 
plow  the  ground  very  deep  as  early  as  the  Spring  will  permit, 
and  set  two  cuttings  in  a  place,  about  six  or  eight  feet  apart, 
in  rows  eight  feet  apart.  If  both  cuttings  live,  one  is  taken 
up  the  next  Spring,  and  set  where  both  have  failed,  or  else 
planted  in  the  nursery  for  future  use,  or  for  sale.  The  first  and 
second  years  a  crop  of  tomatoes  or  melons  is  taken  off  the 
ground  from  between  the  rows.  After  the  second  year  the 
whole  ground  is  given  up  to  them  and,  for  cultivation,  they 
receive  a  rough  digging  over  of  the  ground  with  a  fork  or 
pronged  hoe,  in  the  month  of  June,  and  also  have  a  clean  hoeing 
about  the  first  of  August.  I  train  mostly  to  stakes,  and  prune 
in  November,  keeping  the  bearing  wood  as  near  the  root  as 
possible.  I  do  but  little  Summer  pruning  or  pinching  back. 
At  pruning  time  the  vines  are  cut  loose  from  the  stakes,  and 
the  stakes  are  pulled  up  and  laid  over  them,  which,  with  the 
prunings,  is  all  the  protection  I  give  the  hardy  varieties.  I 
cover  the  tender  varieties  with  straw,  brush,  corn  stalks,  or 
earth,  as  is  most  convenient.  I  estimate  the  annual  cost  of 
caring  for  a  vineyard  by  these  methods,  at  sixty  dollars  per 
acre. 

RASPBERRIES. 

The  raising  of  these  has  been  very  profitable  to  me.  The 
Black  Caps  have  netted  me  from  one  to  three  hundred  dollars 
per  acre.  From  three  to  five  years  is  as  long  as  it  pays  to  keep 


STRAWBERRIES  —  CURRANTS.  547 

them  on  one  tract  of  ground,  when  they  should  be  destroyed ; 
they  then  leave  the  land  in  good  condition  for  corn  or  potatoes. 

STRAWBERRIES. 

Owing  to  the  immense  quantity  of  this  fruit  sent  to  our 
market  from  other  points,  and  over  production  at  home,  most 
growers  are  raising  them  at  a  loss.  However,  by  having  some 
reputation  established,  and  by  taking  extra  pains  in  picking 
and  placing  them  in  the  market  fresh,  and  in  good  condition,  I 
find  ready  sale  for  them  at  two  to  five  cents  per  quart  above 
the  ordinary  prices.  Therefore  they  prove  with  me  a  paying 
crop.  My  method  of  growing  them  is  to  set  the  plants  in  the 
Spring  on  clean,  rich,  deep-plowed  land,  in  rows  three  feet 
apart,  so  as  to  admit  of  the  use  of  a  horse  the  first  year  in  cul- 
tivating. The  first  crop  I  take  from  what  I  term  "  matted 
rows,"  after  which  they  are  allowed  to  cover  the  whole  ground 
and  receive  no  care  but  hand  weeding  and  thinning.  As  soon 
as  a  bed  begins  to  decline  in  productiveness  or  quality  of  fruit, 
I  plant  new  beds,  plowing  the  old  ones  under  and  putting  the 
ground  into  vegetable  crops. 

CURRANTS. 

I  grow  currants  more  to  keep  up  the  variety  than  for  pay. 
The  wholesale  price  here  rarely  exceeds  one  dollar  per  bushel. 
The  labor  and  expense  required  to  grow  and  market  a  superior 
article  is  greater,  in  proportion  to  value  received,  than  any 
other  fruit  I  have  attempted  to  raise. 

THE  VEGETABLE   GARDEN. 

I  will  make  but  a  brief  allusion  to  this.  I  occupy  about 
two  acres  with  early  peas,  beans,  and  potatoes;  the  same 
ground  being  taxed  with  a  second  crop  of  tomatoes,  turnips,  or 
fodder  corn,  after  the  first  is  gathered.  I  plant  from  one  to 
two  acres  of  tomatoes,  about  two  of  cabbage  and  cauliflower,  and 
about  three  to  five  acres  to  beets,  carrots,  parsnips,  and  onions. 
I  also  have  a  patch  of  horseradish,  Lima  beans,  cucumbers, 
squashes,  egg  plants,  peppers  and  celery,  and  raise  three  to 


518  HOUSTON  COUNTY,  MINNESOTA. 

five  acres  of  sweet  corn.  I  also  raise  two  acres  of  field  corn  to 
furnish  feed  for  horses  and  chickens. 

It  may  appear  that  some  seasons  I  claim  more  acres  of 
crops  than  I  have  of  land  under  cultivation.  This  is  accounted 
for  by  the  fact  that  I  take  two  crops  per  year  from  some  of  the 
ground,  and  a  part  crop  from  portions  of  the  orchard.  As  far 
as  possible  every  thing  is  planted  so  as  to  admit  of  using  a  horse 
in  cultivating.  Crops  which  require  to  be  closer,  I  plant  with 
a  Planet  Jr.  combined  drill  and  wheel  hoe,  and  cultivate  with 
the  same  machine  and  a  double  wheel  hoe.  I  raise  all  plants 
required  for  transplanting,  and  have  large  quantities  for  sale, 
using  for  the  purpose  seventy-five  to  one  hundred  sashes  on 
hotbeds  and  cold  frames.  My  earliest  tomatoes  are  sown  in 
shallow  boxes  in  the  greenhouse,  about  the  last  of  February, 
and  at  intervals  during  March.  When  about  two  inches  high, 
they  are  put  out  into  other  boxes  of  fresh  soil,  one  inch 
apart,  and  when  four  or  five  inches  high  they  are  transplanted 
into  hotbeds  or  cold  frames,  according  to  the  lateness  of  the 
season.  When  all  danger  of  frost  is  past,  I  take  them  up  with 
a  trowel  and  plant  them  out  where  they  are  to  fruit.  Cabbage 
and  cauliflower  plants  I  start  in  the  earliest  hotbeds  and  after- 
ward transplant  into  cold  frames  before  planting  in  the  open 
field. 

Besides  myself  and  oldest  son  I  employ  two  men  for  seven 
months,  and  hire  most  of  the  picking  of  fruit  done  by  women 
and  children. 

Looking  back,  I  see  that  with  more  capital  at  the  start, 
much  more  could  have  been  accomplished.  Perhaps,  too,  if  I 
had  spent  less  money  for  books  and  papers,  and  less  time  in 
studying  them,  and  toiled  early  and  late,  and  saved,  I  might 
have  been  rich  in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  but,  alas!  "poor  in 
spirit."  I  am  satisfied.  My  boys  have  grown  up  and  have 
never  shown  a  disposition  to  spend  their  evenings  and  leisure 
time  in  evil  company,  loafing  about  the  stores  and  shops  of  the 
village,  and  I  believe  the  world  is  no  worse  for  my  having 
lived  in  it  fifty-four  years. 


PLAN  OF  SOWING.  549 

T.  G.  BOLTON, 

PLAINVIEW,   WABASHA    COUNTY. 

G-ood  Wheat  Country  —  Methods  of  Raising  It  —  Stock  —  Sheep 
Yard  and  Hog  Pen. 

A  FINE  WHEAT   COUNTRY. 

My  farm  is  situated  on  Greenwood  Prairie,  in  southern 
Minnesota,  a  locality  already  widely  known  as  one  of  the  very 
best  wheat  producing  regions  in  the  State.  For  a  long  time 
wheat  raising  was  found  to  be  so  profitable,  bringing  such 
quick  and  sure  returns,  that  no  other  branch  of  husbandry 
had  scarcely  a  trial.  But  with  a  climate  that  is  just  about 
right,  and  a  soil  that  is  unsurpassed  for  general  farming  pur- 
poses, we  are  gradually  drifting  into  diversified  farming. 

GRAIN   RAISED. 

On  a  farm  of  two  hundred  acres,  I  had  this  year  one  hun- 
dred acres  wheat,  ten  acres  barley,  twenty  acres  oats,  twenty 
acres  clover,  twenty  acres  timothy,  twenty  acres  corn,  and  the 
remainder  in  pasturage. 

These  crops  have  all  yielded  well  with  me  this  year, 
except  wheat,  which  is  of  good  quality  but  limited  in  quantity, 
owing  to  unfavorable  weather  just  before  harvest. 

METHOD. 

My  plan  on  this  farm  for  eight  years  past  has  been  to  sow 
at  least  twenty  acres  of  grass  each  Spring,  sowing  four  quarts 
each  of  timothy  and  clover  per  acre,  with  the  wheat,  by  mix- 
ing the  grass  seeds  and  the  wheat  thoroughly  together,  on  the 
granary  floor.  They  may  be  sown  in  the  ordinary  broadcast 
seeders,  just  as  though  the  wheat  were  handled  alone. 
After  harvest  the  grass  will  be  found  as  evenly  distributed 
as  it  could  have  been  done  in  any  other  way. 

The  following  year  the  clover  predominates,  so  much  so 


550  WABASHA  COUNTY,  MINNESOTA. 

that  on  the  twentieth  of  June,  when  ready  to  cut,  a  man  with- 
out experience  would  despair  of  ever  seeing  any  timothy  from 
the  sowing.  I  have  made  from  such  a  sowing  a  clear  crop  of 
young  clover  which  I  cut  and  put  in  the  barn.  Then  I  let  the 
clover  grow  for  seed,  harvesting  the  crop  about  the  time  that  hard 
frosts  appear  in  the  Fall.  Now  you  may  bid  good-by  to  that 
seeding  of  clover,  but  next  Spring  the  timothy  will  come  out 
ahead,  and  I  am  sure  of  a  ton  and  a  half  or  two  tons  to  the 
acre.  After  this  crop  is  secured,  I  plow  the  ground  again  in 
the  Fall,  and  it  is  ready  for  corn  in  the  Spring,  after  which  the 
small  grains  are  sown  as  most  convenient. 

HOGS. 

I  have  best  success  with  the  Berkshires,- which  I  have  bred 
almost  exclusively  tor  seven  years.  I  have  thought  it  more 
profitable  to  have  pigs  come  rather  late  in  Spring,  or  before  the 
first  of  July.  I  give  them  a  good  start  on  milk,  green  peas, 
and  soft  corn.  I  Winter  them  in  a  big  straw-stack,  in  which 
they  will  make  their  own  shelter  and  bed.  I  do  not  believe  it 
will  pay  to  try  to  make  them  grow  much  during  the  Winter. 
In  the  Spring  I  give  them  a  good  run  in  clover,  with  plenty  of 
water,  and  very  little  else  until  the  green  peas  are  ready. 
These  I  have  growing  near  the  pasture  and  commence  feeding 
vines  and  all,  about  the  time  the  peas  become  fit  for  the  table. 

When  the  peas  are  used  up,  green  corn  is  ready,  which  I 
furnish  them  from  this  time  on,  increasing  the  quantity  as  it 
ripens,  so  as  to  finish  fattening  about  the  first  of  October. 
Then  I  watch  my  chances  for  the  first  market. 

CATTLE. 

I  have  not  had  the  best  of  luck  in  raising  beef  cattle.  I 
raised  some  good  grade  Durhams,  but  they  invariably  cost  me 
more  than  I  could  sell  them  for  for  beef.  I  may  possibly  try 
it  again  some  time. 

I  sold  my  Durhams  and  bought  a  few  Jerseys.  I  have 
been  breeding  these  for  three  years,  and  have  found  ready  sale 
so  far  for  surplus  stock.  I  am  well  pleased  with  the  cows  for 
dairy  use ;  in  fact,  would  rather  have  for  use  on  a  prairie  farm 


SHEEP  YARD  AND  HOG  PEN. 


551 


8x10. 


ll 


HOG 

SLEEPING 


8x10. 


I 

PEN. 

APARTMENTS. 
8x10.  £ 


8x10. 


8x10. 


8x10. 


8x10. 


8x10. 


Trough. 


Trough. 


Trough. 


Trough. 


PLATFORM. 


GROUND  PLAN  OF  T.  G.  BOLTON'S    SHEEP  YARD  AND 
HOG  PEN. 


YARD. 


I  Door 


16  feet. 


SHEEP     SHED. 


Hack. 


552  ROCK  COUNTY,  MINNESOTA. 

a  little  Jersey  cow  than  the  largest  Short-Horn  that  was  at 
the  fairs  this  Fall.  I  set  the  milk  in  deep  cans,  and  keep  it  in 
an  ice  chest  of  home  manufacture,  and  cool  it  with  ice  from 
my  own  ice  house,  which  I  fill  every  Winter  from  the  river 
four  miles  away.  I  use  a  rectangular  churn,  and  like  it. 

HORSES. 

I  believe  the  most  serviceable  animals  are  mules,  but  have 
raised  some  nice  grade  Normans.  They  are  well  liked,  and 
make  good  horses  for  the  farm. 

POULTRY. 

I  have  been  rather  tardy  about  getting  improved  breeds, 
but  have  now  some  young  Plymouth  Rocks,  and  have  built  a 
new  hen  house  and  inclosed  a  yard  to  protect  them  from  the 
Winter  winds.  I  have  large  expectations  for  the  future. 

FARM  MACHINERY. 

I  use  a  broadcast  seeder,  a  McCormick  harvester,  a  Buck- 
eye mower,  a  Phoenix  horse-rake,  a  hay  loader  and  horse  fork. 
I  do  not  think  the  kinds  I  use  are  all  of  the  best,  and  when  I 
buy  again  I  will  change  some  of  them.  A  farmer  is  entitled 
to  the  best  of  every  thing  —  if  he  pays  for  it. 


E.  N.  DARLING, 

LA  VERNE,   ROCK  COUNTY. 

Discouragements  —  Descriptive  —  Planting  and    Harvesting  — 
Hogs  —  Cattle  —  Horses  —  Poultry  —  Fruit. 

HISTORICAL. 

When  I  first  moved  into  this  county,  in  1868,  all  the  com- 
forts of  civilization  were  still  one  hundred  miles  away.  We 
had  to  travel  one  hundred  miles  to  mill,  store,  or  market,  to 
procure  what  we  needed,  and  our  ingenuity  was  taxed  to  the 
utmost  to  devise  comfortable  protection  for  man  and  beast* 


DISCOURAGEMENT.  553 

Dwelling  houses  were  made  from  the  sods  turned  up  in  break- 
ing the  land  ;  barns  also  were  composed  of  the  same  material, 
or  else  were  posts  covered  with  hay  or  straw,  timber  being 
scarce,  and  only  to  be  found  along  some  water  course.  The 
soil  was  rich  from  the  ashes  of  the  burned  prairies,  and  for 
years  yielded  abundantly  of  all  kinds  of  grain.  But  when 
this  grain  was  raised,  the  absence  of  machines  to  thresh  it, 
offered  poor  inducements  to  break  up  the  soil  in  large  tracts. 
Such  were  the  surroundings  in  the  early  settlement  of  Rock 
county,  Minnesota,  though,  but  a  counterpart,  I  presume,  of  all 
frontier  settlements.  No  locality,  however,  even  though 
remote,  having  a  fertile  soil,  with  a  healthy  climate,  will  long 
remain  isolated. 

The  census  of  1870  gave  a  population  in  the  county  of 
but  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  persons.  Soon  after  this 
year,  immigration  began  pouring  in,  and  to-day  the  county 
polls  over  eight  hundred  votes,  which,  estimated  in  accordance 
with  the  usual  ratio  of  five  inhabitants  to  a  voter,  gives 
us  a  population  of  over  four  thousand. 

DISCOURAGEMENTS. 

Our  railroad  facilities  are  good.  The  Saint  Paul  &  Sioux 
City  railroad  built  a  branch  from  its  main  line  through  the 
county  in  187G,  since  which  time  the  country  adjacent  has 
rapidly  improved,  and  immense  quantities  of  grain  have  been 
raised,  despite  the  many  drawbacks  which  have  come  upon  us. 
The  grasshoppers  were  succeeded  by  a  blight  in  1878,  caused 
by  excessive  hot  weather  in  July,  just  as  the  wheat  was 
passing  from  the  milky  to  the  doughy  state.  Had  it  been 
delayed  for  only  ten  clays,  the  largest  yield  ever  known 
would  have  been  the  result.  We  were  not  discouraged,  and 
the  Spring  of  1879  saw  an  increase  in  the  number  of  acres 
sown  of  one  hundred  per  cent.  The  yield  has  not  been  satis- 
factory, and  I  am  satisfied  that  the  failure  was  due  to  two 
causes.  First,  the  inability  to  properly  prepare  so  much 
ground,  and  second,  owing  to  the  seed  of  the  previous  year 
not  having  been  ripened,  and  in  consequence  not  giving  a 


554  ROCK  COUNTY,  MINNESOTA. 

healthy  plant.  The  combination  of  these  two  causes  made 
every  dry  or  hot  spell  tell  on  a  plant,  which  could  only  sur- 
vive under  the  most  favorable  circumstances. 

Although  my  method  of  farming  may  not  be  new,  or  show 
any  particular  originality,  still  I  may  suggest  some  things  that 
might  help  some  less  experienced  man  who  tries  his  fortune  on 
the  frontier. 

DESCRIPTIVE. 

My  farm  comprises  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres, 
adjoining  Rock  river  on  the  west,  and  it  consists  of  fifteen 
acres  of  timber,  one  hundred  acres  of  natural  meadow,  five 
acres  of  timothy,  and  two  hundred  acres  of  plowed  land. 
About  one  hundred  acres  of  the  plowed  land  is  upland  on 
the  east  side,  and  the  remainder  is  bottom  land  of  a  deep,  black, 
alluvial  soil.  The  meadow  receives  the  drainage  of  several 
sections  on  the  east,  if  desired,  by  a  natural  run,  which  may  be 
turned  off  by  means  of  a  dam  at  the  foot  of  the  bluff.  To  this 
plan  I  owe  my  success  on  my  meadow,  which  is  more  valuable 
than  the  plowed  land.  The  meadow  yields  each  year  from  one 
to  one  and  a  half  tons  of  fine  blue-joint  hay,  and  improves 
each  year.  Hay  brings  a  fair  price,  generally  four  to  six 
dollars  per  ton. 

I  have  timber  on  the  northwest  corner  of  the  farm,  and  on 
the  south  and  east  sides  of  it  are  my  buildings,  close  to  the 
river,  thus  affording  shelter  from  the  Winter  storms,  which 
usually  come  from  the  northwest.  The  river  affords  a  fine 
opportunity  for  watering  stock.  The  surface  of  my  bottom 
land  is  quite  smooth,  with  a  descent  of  twenty-five  feet  to  the 
west,  in  one  hundred  and  sixty  rods.  It  is  well  drained  by 
Nature,  except  in  one  or  two  small  patches,  which  each  year  I 
drain  by  open  furrows.  On  the  east  side  there  is  a  small  bluff. 
This  soil  is  not  as  black,  being  slightly  mixed  with  clay.  I 
have  the  whole  farm  nearly  surrounded  with  a  row  of  trees, 
consisting  of  cotton  wood  and  ash -leaved  maples. 

PLANTING  AND   HARVESTING. 

The  county  is  naturally  well  drained,  consequently  there 


PLANTING  AND  HARVESTING.  555 

has  been  no  open  or  tile  draining  done  here.  My  first  break- 
ing was  done  on  the  bottom  land  near  the  river,  extending  each 
year  in  area,  toward  the  bluff.  The  past  season  I  sowed  one 
hundred  and  forty-five  acres  of  Spring  wheat,  ten  acres  of 
Winter  rye,  twenty-five  acres  of  oats,  ten  acres  of  corn,  nine 
acres  of  barley,  one  acre  of  potatoes,  besides  devoting  one  acre 
to  strawberries,  raspberries,  currants,  etc.  The  cost  of  raising 
per  bushel,  is  as  follows :  wheat  fifty-five  cents,  rye  thirty-five 
cents,  oats  fifteen  cents,  corn  fifteen  cents,  barley  twenty-five 
cents,  potatoes  fifteen  cents. 

I  use  a  sixteen  inch  sulky  plow,  worked  by  three  horses. 
I  find  it  more  economical  than  a  walking  plow,  and  it  does 
better  work,  besides  being  easier  on  the  team  and  man  to  plow 
the  same  number  of  acres.  I  use  a  broadcast  seeder,  twelve 
hoes.  I  consider  it  preferable  for  drilling.  I  have  a  harrow 
of  my  own  make,  with  eighty-two  teeth  of  one-half  inch, 
breadth  ten  and  one-quarter  feet,  teeth  slanting. 

I  use  McCormick's  Advance  reaper  (combined),  which  I 
consider  more  economical  than  a  harvester  or  binder,  as  I  can 
get  grain  bound  by  hand  at  the  average  cost  of  the  wire  per 
acre,  and  I  also  have  a  mower  in  the  same  machine.  I  usually 
finish  harvesting  grain  before  haying  commences,  except  the 
tame  grasses.  I  stack  where  convenient  or  the  necessity  of 
the  land  requires  manuring,  and  await  the  finishing  of  haying. 
After  haying  I  thresh  and  sell  my  wheat  on  the  first  market 
that  offers  me  enough  to  cover  expenses  of  harvesting,  retaining 
the  remainder  of  my  small  grain  until  the  midwinter  or  Spring 
market.  My  corn  is  fed  to  hogs  and  marketed  before  the 
holidays,  as  I  do  not  think  it  pays  to  fatten  hogs  in  cold 
weather. 

HOGS. 

There  is  a  great  diversity  of  opinion  as  to  the  best  breeds 
of  hogs  here.  My  favorites  are  the  Bifield  and  Chester  Whites 
crossed,  although  I  have  Magie  and  Berkshire.  I  commence 
fattening  as  soon  as  corn  is  glazed,  giving  plenty  of  pure  water, 
and  shelter  from  sun  and  rain.  I  keep  but  few  together. 


556  KOCK  COUNTY,  MINNESOTA. 

STOCK. 

I  have  just  enough  cows  to  furnish  my  own  butter  and  milk. 
Short-Horns  are  the  especial  favorites  of  farmers  here,  though 
little  attention  hasbeenpaid  to  stock  raising  until  within  the  past 
two  years.  All  young  stock  are  herded  in  Summer,  and  milch 
cows  are  picketed.  There  is  no  creamery  in  the  county,  but 
there  is  a  fine  opening  for  one,  together  with  a  demand  for 
good  butter  and  cheese. 

Horses  bring  good  prices,  ranging  from  one  hundred  to 
one  hundred  and  seventy-five  dollars  each.  Farmers  in  this 
vicinity  show  but  little  interest  in  rearing  them.  The  Nor- 
mans are  my  favorites  for  draft,  and  Black  Hawk-Morgans  for 
light  work  and  roadsters.  At  our  last  county  fair  there  was 
a  very  fine  display  of  blooded  horses ;  of  blooded  stock  of  all 
kinds,  in  fact,  which  awakened  quite  an  enthusiasm  on  the  sub- 
ject of  stock  raising,  a  business  which  I  am  sure  will  prove  a 
greater  success  among  farmers  than  persistent  grain  raising. 

There  is  no  doubt  of  the  adaptability  of  southwestern 
Minnesota  to  stock  raising ,  to  quote  the  opinion  of  the  agri- 
cultural editor  of  the  St.  Paul  Dispatch:  "  If  rich  soil,  magnifi- 
cent grasses  and  fine  climate  mean  any  thing  in  any  country  in 
the  world,  they  mean  some  thing  for  the  farmers  of  south- 
western Minnesota.  I  do  not  believe  there  is  a  better  country 
in  all  the  great  new  Northwest  for  diversified  agricultural 
industry  than  this  region,  or  a  more  disastrous  one  for  the 
persistent  and  entire  cropping  of  wheat." 

POULTRY. 

Turkeys  are  raised  in  considerable  quantities  here.  Bronze 
are  the  favorites,  as  they  attain  greater  weight,  but  they  are 
not  as  hardy  as  the  common  breeds. 

I  keep  the  common  breed  of  white  ducks,  which  are  easily 
raised,  and  prove  profitable  for  feathers.  They  make  fine 
eating,  and  sell  quite  readily  at  one  dollar  per  pair.  I  raise 
about  one  hundred  each  year. 

I  have  no  distinct  breed  of  chickens,  but  those  which  I 
have  had  the  past  season  have  proved  so  remunerative  that  I 


POULTRY— FRUIT  557 

intend  to  build  a  park  next  season  for  their  accommodation. 
They  will  pay  well  for  the  trouble  and  money  invested,  as  I 
have  made  a  profit  of  fifty  cents  from  every  hen  the  past  Sum- 
mer. I  feed  them  corn,  screenings  of  wheat,  barley  and  oats, 
and  in  early  Spring  add  meat,  cut  finely,  and  mixed  with  corn- 
meal. 

FRUIT. 

Apples  have  never  been  raised  here,  as  the  idea  has  been 
prevalent  that  this  was  not  a  fruit  country.  I  have  a  good 
nursery  now,  and  have  twenty-five  fine  growing  trees  that 
will  bear  the  coming  season.  Small  fruit  thrives  well  here. 
I  have  a  quarter  of  an  acre  of  strawberries,  which  yield  well. 
I  can  not  give  the  exact  yield  as  I  never  kept  an  account,  but 
I  had  sufficient  for  eating  and  canning.  Gooseberries,  cur- 
rants and  raspberries  also  do  well.  I  had  only  enough,  how- 
ever, of  these  for  family  use. 

Rock  river  is  well  supplied  with  fish,  principally  pike, 
pickerel,  rock  bass,  and  red  suckers.  It  would  be  a  fine  thing 
to  get  some  other  varieties.  I  think  some  thing  will  be  done 
in  that  line  this  coming  Summer. 


D.  F.  AKIN, 

FARMIXGTON,    DAKOTA  COUNTY. 

Buildings  —  Stabling  and  Feeding  Stock  —  Horses  —  Cattle  — 
Sheep  —  Hogs  —  Bees  —  Fruit  —  Implements —  Grain  — 
Climate. 

ROCK   DELL  FARM 

is  situated  about  two  and  a  half  miles  northwest  of  Farming- 
ton,  Dakota  county,  Minnesota,  on  the  Minnesota  division  of 
the  Chicago  &  St.  Paul  railroad,  and  one  and  three-quarter 
miles  north  of  the  Hastings  and  Dakota  division  of  the  same 
railroad.  It  consists  of  three  hundred  and  thirty-five  acres, 
about  one  hundred  and  thirty  of  which  are  low,  level  prairie, 
thirty  acres  each  of  meadow  and  timber,  seventy  acres  of 


558          DAKOTA  COUNTY,  MINNESOTA. 

brush  prairie,  and  the  remaining  two  hundred  and  five  acres 
high,  rolling  prairie.  My  great  idea  when  selecting  Gov- 
ernment land  was,  if  possible,  to  get  all  the  natural  conven- 
iences, namely,  wood,  water,  stone,  meadow,  and  prairie, 
within  the  compass  of  a  half  section,  for  the  purpose  of  run- 
ning a  farm  devoted  to  mixed  husbandry.  I  did  not  expect  at 
that  time,  April,  1856,  to  obtain  the  advantages  of  the  mar- 
ket created  by  the  junction  of  two  great  railroads.  Having 
begun  thus  early  in  the  settlement  of  the  State,  on  account  of 
the  distance  to  market,  with  the  idea  of  feeding  on  the  farm 
all  the  hay  and  coarse  grain  that  could  be  raised  and  handled 
in  good  season,  and  finding  it  profitable,  I  have  continued  in 
the  same  old,  and  I  think  advisable  rut,  until  the  present 
time. 

IMPROVEMENTS. 

All  of  the  improvements  on  this  farm  have  been  made 
with  the  same  view  of  mixed  husbandry.  The  buildings  con- 
sist of  the  following :  A  two-story  stone  house,  thirty-four  feet 
square,  with  a  kitchen  twenty-one  by  thirty  feet,  and  one  and 
one-half  story  wood-shed,  with  a  cellar  under  the  whole 
of  the  large  part,  divided  by  a  partition  in  order  to  have  a 
place  to  keep  the  products  of  the  cow  away  from  the  vegeta- 
bles and  other  articles  usually  kept  in  a  cellar  (see  plan  of 
house) ,  a  barn,  forty-eight  by  sixty-four  feet,  with  posts 
twenty-eight  feet,  and  cellar  nine  feet  deep,  devoted  to  cattle 
and  horses  and  the  manure  that  is  not  scattered  between  May 
and  September,  a  one  and  a  half  story  granary,  wagon  shed,  tool 
house,  hennery,  pig-pen,  and  sheep  shed,  all  included  under 
one  roof,  thirtjxfour  feet  by  fifty-two,  divided  as  follows  :  for 
storing  and  cleaning  grain,  twenty-two  by  twenty-four  feet ; 
for  wagons,  eight  by  thirty-four  feet ;  for  tools,  twelve  by  six- 
teen feet ;  for  hens,  eight  by  twelve  feet ,  for  sheep,  twelve  by 
forty -four  feet ,  a  pig-pen  fourteen  by  sixteen  feet,  and  an  ice 
house  twelve  by  twelve  feet. 

BARN. 

The  barn  is  built  on  a  slope,  so  that  on  the  west  side,  which 
stands  parallel  to  the  public  road,  the  sill  is  nearly  level  with 


GROUND  PLAN  OF  BARN. 


559 


Swine 


Bin 


D 


Wagon  Shed 


I 


Bin 


Bin 


E 


Tool 


Hen 


560  DAKOTA  COUNTY,  MINNESOTA. 

the  road,  while  on  the  east  side  the  natural  ground  is  lower 
than  the  bottom  of  the  cellar,  giving  perfect  drainage.  There 
is  a  driveway  each  way  through  the  barn.  The  one  east  and 
west  level  with  the  public  highway,  the  one  north  and  south  is 
eight  feet  above,  and  reached  by  an  easy  grade  that  a  team  can 
draw  any  common  load  up.  The  floor  timbers  of  this  driveway 
are  left  loose,  to  be  taken  out  so  the  whole  barn  can  be  filled 
with  a  horse  hay  fork,  and  holds  about  one  hundred  and  six- 
teen thousand  solid  feet.  There  are  hay  and  straw  shoots  at 
the  side  for  letting  the  fodder  into  the  cellar  for  use  there.  For 
the  foundation  of  walls  a  trench  was  dug  four  feet  wide  and  six 
inches  deep,  which  was  filled  with  small  stones  pounded  down 
solid  as  possible  witli  a  wooden  maul,  and  soft  mortar  poured 
over  the  whole  till  filled,  then  the  walls  set  in  the  middle,  so 
there  is  a  projection  each  side,  making  them  rat  proof. 

STABLING   STOCK. 

The  barn  was  planned  so  that  the  owner  could  see  every 
thing  in  place,  and  to  make  it  easier  for  the  help  to  keep  the  tools 
in  their  places  than  to  leave  them  elsewhere.  Eight  horses  are 
usually  kept  on  the  farm,  each  having  his  own  harness  and 
collar,  especially  fitted  to  him,  hanging  directly  behind  him,  so 
there  can  be  no  mistake  in  harnessing.  All  the  animals  are 
named,  and  have  their  own  places,  so  that  any  stranger  can  let 
them  in  and  tie  them  without  making  any  mistake,  as  each 
animal  will  go  directly  to  his  or  her  place.  I  do  not  use  a 
stanchion,  as  the  animals  can  not  thus  get  their  natural  rest. 
They  always,  in  their  free  state,  lay  their  heads  on  their  side, 
and  whoever  deprives  them  of  this  privilege  takes  a  part  of 
their  comfort  from  them. 

FEEDING. 

The  horses  are  fed  in  a  box  rack  for  hay,  about  two  and  a 
half  feet  wide,  and  three  and  a  half  deep  —  the  bottom  being 
level  with  their  feet  —  to  which  they  are  tied.  Small  feed 
boxes,  that  will  hold  about  twenty  quarts,  are  nailed  across  the 
rack  on  top  for  each  horse  to  be  fed  grain  in,  which  consists  of 


ELEVATIONS. 


561 


SOUTH  END  ELEVATION. 


tie 


WEST  ELEVATION  OF  GRANARY. 


562  DAKOTA  COUNTY,  MINNESOTA. 

two  feeds  of  oats  and  one  of  corn  in  Winter,  bran  taking  the 
place  of  corn  in  Summer.  They  are  fed  wild  hay  or  straw, 
never  tame  hay  any  length  of  time,  which  if  fed  constantly 
surely  gives  them  the  heaves.  Colts  are  fed  bran  for  the  first 
year ;  after  that  time,  the  same  as  the  horses,  and  all  have  a 
handful  of  salt  and  wood  ashes  each  week.  Cattle  are  fed  in 
a  rack  similar  to  that  for  the  horses,  only  not  so  high.  They 
are  fed  all  the  hay  they  will  eat  during  the  night  from  their 
rack,  and  bran  or  corn-meal  once  a  day,  except  the  milch  cows, 
who  are  fed  generously  (that  is,  all  they  will  eat  without  get- 
ting off  their  feed),  of  bran  and  corn-meal  alternately,  twice 
a  day,  with  salt  twice  a  week,  and  straw  or  corn-stalks  in  the 
yard.  The  calves  are  reared  as  follows  :  I  feed  new  milk  the 
first  two  weeks,  then  skimmed  milk,  taking  a  little  older  all 
the  time,  till  they  use  the  oldest.  Better  calves  can  be  raised 
on  plenty  of  old  milk  than  on  a  short  allowance  of  new. 

HORSES. 

I  would  say  that  for  farm  work,  my  choice  is  a  spirited, 
quick-stepping,  good-natured  horse,  weighing  from  ten  to  thir- 
teen hundred.  I  have  tried  the  sixteen  hundred  Percherons, 
but  do  not  like  them,  for  they  are  too  slow  and  heavy.  I  greatly 
prefer  some  of  the  trotting  family  mixed  with  what  we  call 
common  stock. 

CATTLE. 

I  have  bred,  in  the  cattle  line,  the  Devons,  Short-Horns, 
and  Jerseys.  Neither  kind  quite  reaches  the  mark  of  the  high 
calling  for  which  it  has  been  advertised,  but  after  years  of 
experimenting  with  the  different  breeds,  I  have  settled  on  as 
the  choice  for  my  purposes  the  cross  between  a  good  milking 
strain  of  the  Short- Horns  and  the  Jerse)'s.  The  Short-Horns 
furnish  the  size,  the  Jerseys  the  splendid  quality  of  milk  for 
beautiful  golden-colored  butter. 

SHEEP. 

For  sheep,  I  keep  only  the  pure-blood  South-Downs.  They 
are  acknowledged  by  all  to  be  the  best  for  mutton,  and  for 
hardiness  they  can  not  be  beaten.  For  example  :  Last  Spring, 


BARN  CELLER 


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564  DAKOTA  COUNTY,  MINNESOTA. 

for  some  reason,  a  ewe,  which  had  dropped  her  lamb  on 
Wednesday,  got  estrayed  from  it  on  Friday,  about  ten  o'clock 
A.  M.  I  found  it  the  Sunday  after  at  noon,  put  it  with  its 
mother,  and  for  a  wonder,  after  its  two  days'  fast,  it  lived. 
They  are  far  more  domestic  than  the  other  varieties,  besides 
being  tamer,  and  always  come  home  to  their  shed  at  night. 

HOGS. 

For  hogs  I  prefer  the  cross  between  the  Chester  White 
-and  Suffolk.  I  have  never  taken  a  fancy  to  the  Berkshire. 

BEES. 

I  have  kept  bees,  but  find  it  takes  too  much  time  in  the 
most  busy  season  of  the  year  to  care  for  them.  The  moth  is 
more  destructive  on  bees  here  than  in  any  other  region  in  the 
United  States.  Still,  some  have  made  a  success  of  bee-keeping. 

FEUIT. 

The  cultivation  of  fruit  has  only  been  tried  for  the  pur- 
pose of  raising  enough  on  the  farm  for  home  consumption. 
Of  cherries,  the  common  red  do  quite  well  here,  but  bear  very 
sparsely.  Apples  have  been  experimented  with  for  the  last 
twenty  years.  I  have  found  but  few  varieties  that  are  per- 
fectly hardy.  Still  there  are  enough  to  have  a  succession  from 
July  till  July,  but  the  longest  keeper  we  have  is  a  crab,  not 
good  for  eating,  but  extra  nice  for  sauce.  There  are  new 
seedlings  coming  in,  bearing  each  year,  so  persons  wishing  to 
raise  their  own  apples  can  do  so.  All  the  small  fruits  grow 
to  the  greatest  perfection. 

There  seems  to  be  a  principle  in  nature,  that  fruits  attain 
more  perfection  the  nearer  they  grow  to  their  northern  limit. 

DAIRY. 

Leaving  the  fruit  yard  and  orchard  with  its  six  hundred 
apple  trees,  we  enter  the  dairy,  where  is  manufactured  the 
butter  and  cheese  of  the  farm.  A  revolving  churn  is  used  to 
make  the  butter,  in  which  the  grain  of  the  latter  is  far  better 
than  in  the  old  fashioned  dash  churn,  besides  the  washing  can 
all  be  done  in  the  churn  so  that  the  lifting  is  dispensed  with. 


IMPLEMENTS  — GRAIN.  565 

In  making  cheese  we  use  a  large  galvanized  iron  vat  for  setting 
and  warming  the  rnilk,  and  a  hoop  of  the  same  for  pressing  in. 
For  a  press  I  took  four  sixteen  inch,  half  inch  carriage  bolts, 
had  the  threads  cut  about  six  inches  long,  and  put  them 
through  a  two-inch  plank,  with  a  plank  on  top.  With  such  a 
press  a  seven  year  old  boy  can  press  a  cheese  all  it  needs. 

IMPLEMENTS. 

The  farm  implements  consist  of  plows,  wagons,  harrows, 
sleighs,  a  cornsheller,  a  two-horse  tread  power  thresher,  separ- 
ator and  cleaner  combined,  a  horse  corn  plow,  header,  mowing 
machine,  horse  hajr-rake,  horse  hay-fork,  and  all  other  small 
tools  used  on  a  farm.  With  the  header  to  cut  the  grain  and 
the  thresher  to  thresh  with  at  pleasure,  the  cost  of  cutting  and 
threshing  is  lessened  more  than  half. 

GRAIN. 

All  the  grain  raised  on  the  farm  is  fed  on  the  place,  except 
the  wheat,  which  is  made  more  of  a  specialty  than  any  other  one 
thing.  It  is  impossible  to  give  the  cost  per  bushel  of  raising- 
grain,  as  the  yield  per  acre  varies  so  much  in  different  years* 
The  cost  per  acre  is  usually  about  five  dollars,  including  har- 
vesting and  storing.  For  a  good  crop  I  plow  the  ground  in 
the  Fall  before  any  frost,  then  harrow.  This,  put  in  early  in 
the  Spring,  always  gives  the  best  returns.  The  wheat  when 
harvested  is  carried  by  the  header  into  large  beds  or  boxes  on 
wagons  drawn  by  horses,  when  it  is  taken  directly  to  the  place 
of  storing,  in  barn  or  stack.  I  find  that  grain  can  be  stored 
in  a  barn  greener  than  in  a  stack  and  cure  well ;  it  makes  no 
difference  about  the  size  of  the  mow.  The  threshing  is  done 
by  a  two-horse  tread-power  thresher,  late  in  the  Fall  or  during 
the  Winter,  when  the  stock  need  the  straw.  They  appear  to 
enjoy  the  fresh  threshed  straw,  and  use  it  most  all  up.  During 
cold  weather  the  grain  threshes  cleaner,  and  help  is  cheaper. 

FOWLS. 

Living  on  the  prairie,  I  have  no  good  place  to  keep  ducks 
and  geese,  and  so  make  the  raising  of  turkeys  a  specialty  in  the 


566  LE  SUEUR  COUNTY,  MINNESOTA. 

poultry  line,  having  raised  about  one  hundred  this  year,  of  the 
Bronze  variety,  which  I  think  is  the  very  best.  I  have  not  as 
yet  a  fancy  hen  house,  but  manage  to  keep  the  fowls  comfort- 
able in  Winter 

CLIMATIC. 

In  reference  to  the  desirableness  of  this  region  for  a  home, 
I  believe,  taking  every  thing  into  consideration,  it  is  the  best 
location  for  farming  in  the  United  States.  The  people  are 
healthy,  and  the  stock  vigorous  and  hearty.  The  land  is  rich 
and  easily  tilled ;  the  water  the  purest  and  best.  The  markets 
are  good,  wood  is  plenty,  and  the  climate  equable,  although 
from  the  extreme  heat  of  Summer  to  Winter's  blast,  the  varia- 
tion of  the  thermometer  is  as  great  as  any  where  else  ;  still,  the 
daily  range  is  so  much  less  than  in  other  places,  that  the  ex- 
tremes are  not  so  noticeable. 


A.  B.  SWAINE, 

ELYSIAN,  LE  SUEUR  COUNTY. 

Corn —  Oats  —  Sugar  Cane —  Cows  and  Calves  —  Hogs — Fruit 
—  Profits  —  Timber  Farming. 

LAKE  FARM. 

In  the  Spring  of  1865,  I  came  to  Minnesota,  and  settled  in 
the  "big  woods"  in  the  town  of  Elysian,  Le  Sueur  county. 
My  farm  consists  of  three  fractional  eighty  acre  lots,  being  a 
little  less  than  a  quarter  section.  My  farming  operations  are 
necessarily  small.  My  land  is  heavily  timbered  with  oak,  elm, 
basswood  and  maple,  and  is  situated  on  the  north  shore  of  the 
center  one  of  a  chain  of  three  lakes,  which  extend  east  and 
west,  a  distance  of  five  miles.  The  road  runs  on  the  west  side, 
also  along  the  shore  of  a  small  lake.  There  is  a  lake  on  the 
northwest  and  one  on  the  northeast  corner,  so  that  frost  seldom 
does  any  damage  before  the  middle  of  October.  My  house  is 


YIELD  OF  WINTER  WHEAT— CORN.  567 

twenty  by  thirty  feet,  with  a  wing  sixteen  by  thirty-two  feet, 
and  is  situated  on  an  elevation  overlooking  the  lake. 

I  have  cleared  seventy  acres,  about  half  of  which  is  seeded 
to  timothy  and  clover,  and  is  used  for  pasture  and  meadow. 
The  other  half  of  the  land  I  have  cultivated  is  cleared  of  stumps 
and  planted  and  sowed  in  about  equal  proportions  alternate 
years.  Formerly  Winter  wheat  did  well  here,  yielding  twenty- 
five  to  thirty-five  bushels  to  the  acre,  but  of  late  it  has  been 
Winter  killed  to  such  an  extent  that  it  is  not  considered  a  safe 
crop.  During  the  fifteen  years  that  I  have  harvested  in  this 
place,  my  crops  have  been  slightly  damaged  four  times ;  once 
by  hail,  once  by  grasshoppers,  and  twice  by  drouth.  The 
lightest  yield,  damaged  by  hail,  was  twelve  bushels,  by  grass- 
hoppers, twenty  bushels,  by  drouth  eighteen  and  nineteen 
bushels,  respectively,  in  1878  and  1879.  Had  the  grasshopper 
not  troubled  me  the  yield  would  probably  have  been  thirty 
bushels,  and  for  the  years  1878  and  1879  it  promised,  at  least, 
thirty-five.  With  the  drouth  for  1878  it  was  twenty  bushels 
No.  3,  for  1879  it  was  eighteen  bushels  of  No.  1  to  the  acre,  at 
machine  measure. 

CORN. 

The  average  yield  for  the  fifteen  years  I  have  farmed  here, 
has  been  twenty -two  and  a  half  bushels,  by  weight ;  all 
•except  last  year's  crop,  which  was  badly  blighted  and 
weighed  only  fifty-five  pounds  to  the  bushel.  The  soil  is 
black,  sandy  loam,  with  clay  subsoil.  Early  in  the  Fall  I  plow 
deep,  and  sow  one  and  a  half  bushels  to  the  acre  as  soon  as 
the  ground  is  dry  enough  to  mellow  up  good,  generally  about 
the  last  of  March  or  the  first  of  April.  I  plow  in  the  Fall  for 
corn  also.  The  first  week  in  May  I  mark  it  both  ways  with  a 
double-shovel  plow  four  feet  apart  each  way,  and  plant  five  to 
six  kernels  in  a  hill,  of  the  Dent  varieties.  I  find  that  one 
hundred  bushels  of  ears  to  the  acre  is  an  average  crop,  but  I 
have  raised  one  hundred  and  sixty  bushels  to  the  acre,  in  fav- 
orable seasons.  When  the  corn  is  about  coming  up,  I  give  it  a 
thorough  harrowing,  and  when  it  is  up  so  that  I  can  follow  the 


568  LE  SUEUR  COUNTY,  MINNESOTA. 

rows,  I  commence  cultivating,  and  follow  it  up  till  it  is  about 
waist  high,  after  which  I  let  it  alone.  I  do  not  desire  more 
than  five  nor  less  than  four  stalks  in  a  hill.  I  plow  deeper  for 
corn  than  for  wheat.  The  manure  that  is^  made  on  the  place 
is  put  on  the  ground  I  design  for  corn.-  The  corn  is  cut  the 
first  week  in  September,  and  put  in  shocks  of  eight  hills  square. 
After  drying  a  short  time  it  is  husked,  and  the  fodder  bound 
and  stacked,  and  fed  to  the  stock  in  the  Winter.  All  of  the 
corn  I  raise  is  fed  out  on  the  farm. 

OATS. 

My  oats  are  sown  after  the  wheat  is  sown.  I  sow  two  and 
a  half  bushels  to  the  acre.  I  have  but  once  raised  as  small  a 
crop  as  forty,  and  have  raised  as  high  as  eighty  bushels  to 
the  acre.  I  generally  average  fifty  to  sixty  bushels. 

POTATOES. 

I  plant  whole  potatoes,  without  sorting  them.  The 
amount  of  seed  varies  from  twelve  to  fifteen  bushels  to  the 
acre.  I  plant  four  feet  apart  each  way,  cultivate  till  half 
grown,  and  then  hill  them  up,  making  a  broad,  flat  hill.  They 
yield  from  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred  bushels  to 
the  acre.  If  I  can  obtain  twenty-five  cents  a  bushel,  or  more, 
I  sell  them ;  if  they  will  not  bring  that,  I  feed  them  to  the 
stock. 

SUGAR   CANE. 

I  plant  a  few  acres  of  the  Early  Golden  cane  every  yearr 
and  make  from  six  hundred  to  one  thousand  gallons  of  sirup, 
which  sells  readily  at  forty  cents  per  gallon.  I  sold  formerly 
for  seventy-five  cents  to  one  dollar  per  gallon.  The  yield  is 
from  one  hundred  and  sixty  to  two  hundred  gallons  to  the 
acre,  if  cultivated  four  feet  apart  each  way,  with  from  seven  to 
ten  stalks  in  a  hill.  It  requires  a  little  more  care  than  corn, 
bat  the  profit,  even  at  thirty  cents  a  gallon,  is  greater  than  on 
wheat  at  present  prices,  or  at  one  dollar  per  bushel.  I  attribute 
my  success  in  a  measure  to  the  selection  of  the  best  seed  and 
a  thorough  preparation  of  the  soil,  together  with  alternate. 


COWS  AND  CALVES— HOGS.  560 

cropping.     Another  requisite  to  success  is  to  do  the  work  in 
season. 

COWS  AND   CALVES. 

I  raise  horses,  cattle,  and  hogs.  My  cattle  are  grade 
Durhams.  I  Winter  them  on  timothy  and  clover  hay  and  corn 
fodder,  with  grain  enough  to  keep  them  in  good  condition. 
The  heifers  come  in  at  two  years  old,  and  are  nearly  full-grown 
at  that  age.  The  calves  run  with  their  mothers,  save  the  cows 
that  I  milk  for  family  use.  When  I  find  that  a  cow  gives  an 
extra  quantity  of  milk,  which  makes  better  butter,  I  keep  her 
for  use  in  my  family.  The  calves  generally  attain  a  weight  of 
five  hundred  pounds  dining  the  Summer,  and  are  kept  growing 
through  the  Winter.  The  heifers  are  always  fit  for  beef,  and 
sell  well  at  a  good  price  the  Summer  after  they  are  two  years 
old.  I  have  found  it  more  profitable  to  raise  heifers  than  steers, 
and  it  pays  better  to  insure  the  growth  of  young  stock  the  first 
year  by  letting  the  calves  run  with  the  cows,  than  to  take 
them  off  and  make  use  of  the  milk  for  other  purposes. 

My  horses  and  cattle  are  all  stabled,  and  fed  and  watered 
regularly  in  the  Winter.  They  all  have  access  to  the  lakes  for 
water  in  the  Summer.  I  have  abandoned  sheep  raising,  on 
account  of  the  ravages  of  dogs  and  wolves,  although  it  is  car- 
ried on  with  success  in  some  localities. 

HOGS. 

Last  year  pork  was  low,  for  the  first  time  in  fifteen  years, 
and  at  the  price  of  corn,  forty  cents,  it  didn't  pay  the  cost  of 
feeding.  It  only  brought  one  dollar  and  a  half  to  two  dollars 
and  a  half  per  hundred  weight,  but  for  several  years  before  it 
had  brought  from  four  to  eight  dollars,  and  it  was  then  more 
profitable  to  raise  hogs  than  to  raise  cattle  or  wheat.  My  stock 
of  hogs  are  of  the  Poland  China  breed,  crossed  with  Chester 
White.  I  pasture  them  in  the  timber  in  the  Summer,  and  feed 
them  well  so  as  to  keep  them  growing.  About  the  first  of 
September,  I  commence  fattening  them  by  feeding  them  all  the 
old  corn  they  will  eat,  and  the  scum  from  the  sorghum  juice, 
while  I  am  making  sirup.  This  scum  is  equal  to  skim  milk 


570  LE  SUEUR  COUNTY,  MINNESOTA. 

or  whey  for  fattening  purposes.  The  pigs  are  dropped  in  the 
Summer  or  Fall,  and  they  are  fed  enough  to  keep  them  in  a 
thriving  condition  through  the  Winter.  I  slaughter  them 
about  the  middle  or  last  of  November,  when  they  weigh  from 
four  to  five  hundred  pounds.  Formerly  I  have  tried  to  fatten 
Spring  pigs,  so  as  to  save  Wintering,  and  have  succeeded  in 
making  them  weigh  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred 
pounds,  but  they  are  more  liable  to  accident,  and  the  right  sort 
of  stock  is  not  always  to  be  had.  So  I  find  it  best  to  rely  on 
Summer  or  Fall  pigs  Wintered  over.  While  fattening  I  let 
them  have  access  to  the  lake.  They  are  in  a  large  yard,  well 
sheltered,  and  when  kept  warm  and  dry  are  invariably  healthy. 

FRUIT. 

I  have  a  small  orchard  proportioned  to  the  size  of  the 
farm.  I  have  succeeded  in  raising  several  of  the  standard 
varieties,  such  as  the  Wealthy,  Duchess  of  Oldenburg,  Red 
Astrachan,  and  a  few  others. 

PROFITS. 

I  usually  receive  over  a  dollar  a  bushel  for  wheat,  so  that 
taking  into  account  the  ordinary  rent  for  land,  one-third  of  the 
crop,  at  twenty-two  and  one-half  bushels  per  acre,  I  have 
realized  a  little  more  than  seven  dollars  an  acre  profit  above 
expenses.  My  horses  have  sold  at  three  and  four  years  old  at 
from  one  hundred  to  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars  each, 
and  at  the  prices  obtained  for  young  stock,  my  pasture  and 
meadow  have  yielded  the  same  profit  per  acre.  At  the  prices 
which  I  have  received  for  my  pork  for  the  past  fifteen  years, 
corn  has  paid  at  least  fifty  cents  a  bushel. 

TIMBER   FARMING. 

Tilling  the  soil  and  raising  stock  are  not  the  only  source 
of  money-making  for  the  timber  farmer.  After  the  ground 
has  frozen  and  Winter  has  set  in,  the  timber  furnishes  a  means 
of  livelihood,  and  the  industrious  farmer  turns  his  attention  to 
making  railroad  ties,  cutting  and  drawing  saw-logs,  and  chop- 
ping cord-wood.  The  price  of  ties  delivered  at  the  track  of 


TIMBER  FARMING.  571 

the  railroad  averages  about  twenty-nine  cents.  Usually  the 
price  is  about  equally  divided,  paying  respectively  one-third 
each  for  the  timber,  making,  and  hauling ;  but  more  recently, 
on  account  of  timber  becoming  scarce,  it  sells  on  the  stump  for 
twelve  cents  a  tie.  There  is  a  great  demand  for  all  kinds  of 
lumber  that  can  be  obtained  in  the  "  big  woods,"  including 
elm,  which  is  extensively  used  by  the  prairie  farmers  for  fenc- 
ing, and  is  considered  better  than  pine  for  that  purpose  ;  bass- 
wood,  which  is  used  principally  for  building  purposes ;  black 
walnut,  butternut,  oak,  and  maple,  which  finds  a  ready  market 
at  remunerative  prices  for  manufacturing  purposes.  Usually 
we  chop  clean,  and  after  culling  every  thing  that  can  be  used  for 
the  purposes  above  mentioned,  the  remainder  is  made  into 
cord-wood,  and  either  sold  on  the  ground  or  hauled  to  market 
as  may  be  chosen.  Maple  wood,  dry,  sells  for  from  one  dollar 
and  seventy-five  cents  to  two  dollars  and  twenty-five  cents,  on 
the  ground,  and  is  eagerly  sought  for  by  the  more  wealthy 
prairie  farmers  and  business  men  in  villages  and  large  towns  ; 
about  the  same  price  is  paid  for  hauling.  Basswood  is  worth 
from  seventy-five  cents  to  one  dollar  on  the  ground,  and  from 
one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  to  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents  deliv- 
ered, according  to  distance.  Oak  and  elm  wood  bears  the  same 
proportion  to  these  prices  as  its  value  for  fuel.  For  chopping, 
maple  costs  seventy  to  seventy -five  cents  per  cord ;  bass  and 
mixed  wood  fifty  to  sixty  cents.  The  number  of  cords  per 
acre  is,  on  an  average,  forty,  from  ten  to  twenty  of  it  being 
maple.  Taking  the  lowest  estimate  of  cost  for  chopping  and 
maple  wood,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  maple  timber 
alone  on  the  stump  pays  ten  to  twelve  dollars  an  acre, 
and  the  remainder  of  the  wood  as  much  more,  leaving 
out  of  account  the  mercantile  timber,  which  with  the 
labor  expended  in  getting  it  out,  is  worth  nearly  or  quite 
as  much  as  the  wood.  The  brush  is  all  cut  and  piled  as  the 
chopping  proceeds,  so  that  in  the  Spring  it  is  easily  cleared  and 
fitted  for  the  plow.  The  first  crop,  being  corn,  needs  but  little 
cultivation  after  the  first  plowing,  and  seldom  fails  of  produc- 
ing at  least  one  hundred  bushels  of  ears  to  the  acre,  which 


572  NOBLES  COUNTY,  MINNESOTA. 

amply  pays  for  the  clearing  and  preparation  of  the  soil.  For- 
merly, a  short  time  before  seeding  in  the  Spring,  I  tapped 
about  five  hundred  maple  trees,  from  which  I  made  from  one 
thousand  to  one  thousand  five  hundred  pounds  of  sugar,  which 
for  several  years,  commencing  with  the  Spring  of  1866,  sold  at 
twenty  cents  per  pound.  Of  late,  owing  to  the  price,  the 
injury  to  the  trees  from  constant  tapping,  and  the  failure  from 
some  cause  of  good  sugar  weather,  the  sugar  business  does 
not  pay,  and  the  pride  of  the  farm,  a  good  sugar  bush,  is  fast 
becoming  a  thing  of  the  past. 

The  foregoing  is  not  an  overdrawn  sketch,  but  simply  a 
description  of  the  Winter  occupation  of  a  timber  farmer  as  a 
means  of  getting  —  not  rich  —  but  a  living. 


J.    H.    CUNNINGHAM, 

HEKSEY,  NOBLES  COUNTY. 

Wind-break  —  Stock  —  Sheep  — Grain  —  Soil  —  Planting  — 

Buildings. 

In  the  Spring  of  1870,  having  in  view  the  making  of  a 
home  and  model  farm,  1  started  from  the  eastern  part  of  Min- 
nesota, with  a  span  of  horses  and  a  few  hundred  dollars,  and 
made  my  way  to  the  frontier  of  the  State,  tletermhred  to  find 
something  to  suit  me,  if  possible.  In  ten  days  I  encamped  on 
the  banks  of  Graham  lakes,  in  Nobles  county,  a  spot  that 
seemed  to  me  more  desirable  than  any  thing  previously  seen. 
A  stay  of  two  days,  and  much  examination  of  soil  and  advanta- 
ges, convinced  me  that  I  had  found  a  desirable  place  to  settle 
on.  I  therefore  secured  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of 
government  land,  overlooking,  but  not  running  to  the  lake,  and 
extending  south  to  Jack  creek  (a  small  stream  of  clear,  running 
water).  There  are  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  acres  of  well- 
drained  plow  land,  and  seventy  acres  of  bottom  land,  lying 
along  the  creek,  which  was,  at  that  time,  covered  with  a  rank 


WIND  -  BREAK  —  STOCK — SHEEP.  573 

growth  of  weeds  and  grasses.  This  land  has,  by  repeated 
mowing,  become  a  meadow  of  fine  blue-joint  grass,  yielding 
annually  one  and  a  half  to  two  tons  of  hay,  equal  to  timothy 
hay.  I  erected  a  small  log  house,  and  a  stable  of  sod  for  im- 
mediate use,  as  the  nearest  railroad  station  was  seventy-five 
miles  away,  and  lumber  could  not  be  had  nearer. 

WIND - BREAK. 

The  following  year  I  started  a  wind-break  of  willows, 
cotton  woods  and  Lombardy  poplars,  on  the  north  and  west 
sides  of  my  house,  and  in  a  few  years  had  five  acres  planted 
with  trees.  They  are  a  great  benefit  now. 

STOCK. 

I  procured  some  Berkshire  hogs,  as  pork  brought  a  good 
price.  About  the  time  that  I  had  a  number  of  hogs,  the  price 
fell  so  that  I  could  obtain  more  for  the  corn  than  I  could 
for  the  pork.  So  I  disposed  of  the  hogs  at  once.  I  also  had  a 
number  of  cows.  I  raised  their  calves  and  purchased  more, 
finding  at  first  a  good  home  market  for  all  the  cows  and  steers 
I  had  to  spare.  Soon  there  was  a  surplus,  and  we  had  to  de- 
pend on  Iowa  feeders  to  come  here  and  buy  them.  The  price 
of  butter  was  low  at  the  same  time ;  a  fact  which  induced  me 
three  years  ago  to  sell  off  all  except  what  I  required  for  home 
use.  I  put  the  proceeds  into  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
grade  Merino  sheep,  upon  which  I  have  used  a  full-blood 
Merino  buck,  with  excellent  results. 

SHEEP. 

The  sheep  run  in  the  prairie  pasture  of  eighty  acres  during 
the  Summer,  and  are  brought  into  the  yard  every  night.  Dur- 
ing the  Winter  I  keep  them  in  a  shed  open  to  the  east,  with 
a  yard  on  that  side,  into  which  they  can  run.  From  the  sides 
of  this  shed  they  are  fed  with  hay  at  sunrise  and  sunset,  and 
are  allowed  as.  much  as  they  will  eat  up  clean.  No  grain  is 
fed  to  them.  They  run  in  a  pasture  every  fine  da}7.  About 
once  a  week  I  draw  a  load  of  straw,  and  scatter  it  upon  the 
ground  for  them  to  eat.  There  is  a  pond  of  half  an  acre  in  the 


574  NOBLES  COUNTY,  MINNESOTA. 

pasture,  that  affords  good  water  the  entire  year  for  them.  The 
lambs  come  about  May  tenth.  The  grass  is  then  large  enough 
to  afford  good  pasturage,  so  that  the  ewes  have  plenty  of  milk, 
and  will  not  disown  their  lambs,  as  they  are  apt  to  do  earlier 
in  the  season.  This  year  my  expenses  for  shearing,  hay,  inter- 
est and  taxes  are  sixty  cents  per  head.  The  income  from  the 
wool,  mutton  and  increase,  is  two  dollars  and  twenty-five  cents 
per  head.  The  care  I  give  them  I  can  hardly  estimate,  as  they 
usually  come  into  the  yard  at  night  without  being  looked  after, 
in  Summer  or  in  Winter. 

GRAIN. 

While  I  have  raised  stock  of  various  kinds  successfully, 
I  have  also  tried  to  raise  wheat,  but  have  met  with  poor 
success.  For  seven  years  the  grasshoppers  came,  either  in  the 
Spring  or  just  before  the  harvest,  and  destroyed  most  of  my 
crops.  Last  year  I  expected  a  good  crop,  but  the  heavy  rains 
and  hot  sunshine  in  July,  blighted  the  grain.  Oats  have  proved 
a  fair  crop,  and  corn,  where  planted  early  and  well  tended,  is 
also  good.  My  crop  last  year  footed  up  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  acres  of  wheat,  yielding  nothing,  twenty-two  acres 
of  oats  at  forty  bushels  per  acre,  and  twenty-five  acres  of  corn, 
not  all  husked,  but  estimated  at  fifty  bushels  per  acre  of  sound 
corn. 

SOIL. 

The  soil  of  my  farm  is  a  very  rich,  black  loam,  from  two 
to  three  feet  deep,  upon  a  subsoil  of  yellow  clay.  The  soil  is 
slightly  impregnated  with  alkali,  and  is  well  adapted  to  raising 
either  grain  or  stock.  The  wheat  that  has  headed  out  before 
being  destroyed  by  grasshoppers,  looked  very  fine,  and  now 
that  we  are  finally  rid  of  the  pests,  I  hope  that  we  shall  make 
a  good  showing  in  this  county. 

PLANTING. 

Most  of  my  plowing  is  done  in  the  Fall.  As  soon  as  the 
ground  is  sufiiciently  thawed  in  the  Spring,  I  start  the  harrow 
where  wheat  is  to  be  sown,  going  over  the  ground  twice.  I 
sow  one  and  a  quarter  bushels  of  wheat  per  acre,  with  a 


PLANTING  —  BUILDINGS.  575 

drill,  putting  in  the  seed  about  four  inches  deep,  thus  insuring 
moisture  for  the  seed,  and  preventing  the  wind  from  uncover- 
ing it,  as  it  sometimes  does,  when  the  seed  is  sown  broadcast. 
Oats  and  barley  are  sown  in  the  same  way,  two  and  one-half 
bushels  of  each  per  acre.  I  then  finish  up  the  plowing  not  done 
in  the  Fall,  as  the  corn  should  be  planted  before  May  tenth, 
to  insure  success.  As  soon  as  it  is  up  so  that  I  can  see  the 
rows,  I  start  the  sulky  cultivator,  and  work  the  corn  once  a 
week  until  July  fourth.  After  that  I  make  hay  until  harvest, 
the  last  of  July,  when  I  harvest  and  stack.  I  use  the  Marsh 
harvester  and  self  binder,  which  works  well.  As  soon  as  I 
have  completed  the  stacking,  haying  is  again  in  order  for  two 
or  three  weeks,  then  I  thresh  and  plow  until  the  ground 
freezes  —  usually  about  the  fifteenth  of  November  —  when  I 
husk  corn. 

BUILDINGS. 

My  buildings  consist  of  a  house,  twenty  by  thirty  feet, 
twelve  feet  high,  a  stone  milk  house,  twelve  by  fourteen  feet, 
a  barn,  thirty  by  forty  feet,  sixteen  feet  high,  and  cattle  and 
sheep  sheds  of  crotches  and  rails,  of  an  irregular  shape,  roofed 
with  hay.  These  last  cover  thirteen  hundred  square  feet. 
The  barn  is  divided  thus :  fourteen  by  thirty  feet  of  the  east 
side  are  given  to  horses,  having  seven  stalls.  In  front  of  them 
is  the  granary,  eighteen  by  twenty-six  feet,  and  the  machinery 
part  is  twelve  by  twenty-six  feet.  Over  the  horses  is  a  bin 
for  holding  one  thousand  bushels  of  oats ;  the  remainder  is  for 
hay,  except  a  small  crib  which  I  reserve  for  corn. 


576  STEELE  COUNTY,  MINNESOTA. 

G.  W.  BUFFUM, 

OWATONNA,   STEELE  COUNTY. 

Dairy  Farm  —  Points  for  Good  Dairy  Cow  —  Yield  of  Milk  — 
Feed  —  Proceeds  —  Wheat  —  Fruit  —  Machinery  —  Barn. 

Coming  out  of  the  army  in  1865,  with  about  twenty-five 
hundred  dollars  in  money,  my  thoughts  turned  to  where  I 
should  go  and  what  I  should  do.  Having  always  lived  on 
a  farm,  I  thought  1  could  succeed  at  farming,  if  at  nothing  else, 
so  I  took  Horace  Greeley's  advice,  and  in  May,  1866,  started  for 
Steele  county,  Minnesota,  where  I  bought  two  hundred  acres 
of  land  for  twenty-five  hundred  dollars. 

There  were  on  my  place,  a  log  house  and  a  small  stable  ; 
twenty-five  acres  of  ground  had  been  broken.  In  June,  I  went 
back  after  my  family,  which  consisted  of  a  wife  only,  and  we 
set  out  for  our  new  home,  in  a  lumber  wagon. 

I  started  out  in  life  to  pay  as  I  went,  which  is  always  a 
good  rule. 

My  original  farm  consisted  of  prairie  one  hundred  and 
twenty  acres,  timber  forty  acres,  and  marsh  or  meadow  forty 
acres.  Our  people  here  came  with  but  little  money,  and  wheat 
giving  the  quickest  returns,  they  naturally  turned  their  atten- 
tion to  its  production. 

DAIRIES. 

From  1865  to  1871,  I  devoted  my  time  entirely  to  wheat 
and  stock,  planting  but  little  corn,  and  only  oats  enough  for 
my  horses.  My  farm  being  new,  and  the  manure  that  accumu- 
lated being  applied  to  the  knolls  and  oldest  cultivated  soil, 
my  fullest  expectations  were  realized  for  the  first  few  years ; 
but,  knowing  that  the  soil  could  not  long  stand  the  strain  of 
continual  cropping  witli  wheat,  I  became,  in  the  Spring  of  1871, 
a  patron  of  a  cheese  factory  that  started  near  my  place — fur- 
nishing from  sixteen  to  twenty-two  cows.  Cheese  was  worth, 
at  that  time,  from  fifteen  to  eighteen  cents  per  pound. 


POINTS  FOR  GOOD   DAIRY   COWS.  577 

After  the  first  season,  I  found  I  had  much  to  learn  in  the 
selection  and  treatment  of  cows ;  my  first  year's  results  at  the 
factory  (although  as  good  as  my  neighbor's),  were  not  satis- 
factory. The  price  of  cheese  was  good,  but  the  quantity  of 
milk  small,  being  only  about  twenty-eight  hundred  pounds  per 
cow,  for  six  months — from  May  first  to  November  first.  I 
found  I  was  feeding  too  many  cows  for  the  milk  I  was  getting, 
consequently  I  sold,  or  turned  into  beef,  all  of  my  poorest  milk- 
ers, and  bought  new,  selecting  what  I  thought  to  be  deep 
milkers.  But  not  more  than  half  of  them  would  fill  the  bill, 
so  I  posted  myself  on  the  subject,  by  reading  different  works 
on  dairying,  and  using  my  own  judgment  as  to  the  diversity  of 
opinions  of  different  authors.  When  cheese  was  the  object 
sought,  I  selected  from  our  best  native  cows,  and  crossed  with 
an  Ayrshire  bull,  letting  the  heifers  come  in  at  two  years 
old. 

I  then  found  that  the  pasture  should  be  divided  into  two 
lots,  changing  as  often  as  once  a  week,  and  that  cows  should 
have  regular  milkers,  and  no  scolding  or  harsh  treatment  should 
be  allowed  in  the  dairy. 

POINTS   FOR   GOOD  DAIRY  COWS. 

It  is  not  the  largest  cows  that  always  give  the  best  results. 
Select  a  cow  with  fine  hair,  soft  hide,  thin  neck,  a  mild,  bright, 
full  eye,  small,  smooth  horn,  a  large  stomach,  fine  leg  and  a 
small  tail ;  and  with  good  care  I  will  guarantee  that  such  will 
fill  the  pail. 

YIELD   OF   MILK. 

A  good  dairy  cow  ought  to  give  four  thousand  five  hun- 
dred pounds  of  milk  in  one  hundred  and  eighty  days,  after 
calving ;  and  for  the  next  one  hundred  and  twenty  days,  she 
ought  to  make  from  sixty  to  eighty  pounds  of  butter,  going 
dry  not  over  sixty  days.  During  my  eight  years  in  the  dairy 
business,  I  have  raised  the  }rield  of  milk  per  cow  from  two 
thousand  eight  hundred  to  over  four  thousand  pounds  in  six 
months'  milking,  from  May  1st  to  November  1st;  and  I  am 
sure  that  I  have  had  many  cows  that  would  reach  five  thousand 

37 


578  STEELE  COUNTY,  MINNESOTA. 

pounds  each.     The  gross  annual  receipts  per  cow,  during  the 
eight  years,  were  about  forty  dollars. 

FEED. 

Provide  green  fodder  for  Fall  use,  or  when  the  pasture 
begins  to  fail.  I  have  found  the  evergreen  sweet  corn,  sown  in 
drills  three  feet  apart,  and  worked  with  horse  and  cultivator,  as 
other  corn,  to  give  fine  results  in  supplying  the  deficiency. 
Aside  from  the  best  pasture  of  clover,  timothy,  and  wild  grasses 
for  Summer,  and  good,  early  cut  hay  for  Winter,  I  have  used 
the  evergreen  sweet  corn  for  Fall  feed,  and  wheat  bran  for 
Winter,  and  have  always  had  my  cows  fat  in  the  Spring,  form- 
ing a  reservoir  to  draw  upon  in  the  Summer.  Stock  should  be 
kept  in  a  thriving  condition  the  year  through.  It  is  a  grave 
mistake  to  allow  them  to  fall  off  in  condition  one  part  of  the 
season  to  be  made  up  at  the  expense  of  the  growth  during  the 
remainder  of  the  year. 

PROCEEDS. 

The  proceeds  from  my  cows  have  built  me  a  house  costing 
$2,300,  a  barn  costing  $1,200,  and  I  still  find  a  balance  in  their 
favor.  I  think  I  have  raised  as  much  or  more  wheat  than  I 
would,  if  I  had  not  kept  cows  ;  and,  instead  of  having  a  farm 
exhausted  by  continual  cropping  to  wheat,  my  farm  is  under 
a  high  state  of  cultivation. 

WHEAT. 

From  1865  to  1878, 1  find  that  my  wheat  yield  has  averaged 
a  fraction  over  nineteen  bushels  per  acre,  sometimes  yielding  as 
high  as  thirty  bushels,  and  again  as  low  as  eight  or  ten.  I  also 
find  the  price,  for  the  time  referred  to,  averages  $1.09  per 
bushel,  the  highest  being  $1.80  and  the  lowest  sixty-five  cents. 
I  have  usually  sold  on  contract  as  soon  as  possible  after  thresh- 
ing, to  be  delivered  the  last  of  August  (if  the  weather  would 
permit  of  threshing),  or  carry  it  over  until  the  next  May,  June, 
or  July.  I  think  the  rule  will  hold  good  to  get  your  crop  into 
market  as  early  as  possible,  or  hold  it  till  the  bulk  of  the  crop 
has  passed  out  of  first  hands.  The  cost  of  raising  wheat  depends 


FRUIT  —  MACHINERY.  579 

on  location,  soil,  and  cost  of  labor.  In  Steele  county  the  farms 
are  not  suitable  for  the  production  of  wheat  alone,  being  cut 
up  more  or  less  in  small  strips  of  meadow,  sloughs,  groves  of 
timber,  lakes,  etc.,  leaving  the  wheat  land  not  more  than'  one- 
half  of  the  whole  area,  and  that  broken  in  small  lots  of  from 
ten  to  one  hundred  acres,  making  it  much  more  expensive  to 
work  than  unbroken  sections.  I  estimate  the  cost  of  raising  wheat 
in  our  section  of  country,  from  eight  to  ten  dollars  per  acre, 
counting  nothing  on  capital  invested  and  no  wear  on  machinery. 
I  would  divide  it  up  as  follows,  taking  twenty  bushels  per  acre 
as  an  average  crop  (more  per  acre  would  increase  the  cost  and 
less  would  diminish  it,  the  principal  difference  being  in  the 
threshing)  :  Plowing,  $1.50 ;  seed,  at  $1.00  per  bushel,  $1.75  ; 
seeding,  seventy-five  cents;  harvesting  and  shocking,  $1.75; 
threshing,  $3.00 ;  making  $8.75.  These  figures  make  no  esti- 
mate for  rainy  days,  break-downs,  etc.,  which  are  always 
attended  with  more  or  less  expense.  If  the  grain  is  stacked, 
the  expense  is  a  little  more. 

FRUIT. 

Being  a  lover  of  fruit  I  started  my  orchard  almost  as  soon 
as  I  commenced  housekeeping,  and  am  proud  of  my  success.  I 
sent  to  Beaver  Dam,  Wisconsin,  for  my  first  trees,  in  the  Spring 
of  1866.  I  have  three  hundred  and  fifty  trees  in  all,  nearly 
two  hundred  of  these  bearing.  I  sold  over  one  hundred  bushels 
of  apples  the  past  season.  I  started  with  the  crab  variety  and 
gradually  worked  into  the  standard  fruit.  My  mode  of  treat- 
ment has  been  clean  cultivation  for  four  or  five  years,  then 
seeding  down  to  clover,  and  keeping  the  trees  mulched  w^th 
light  horse  manure  or  straw. 

MACHINERY. 

Machinery  is  an  important  item,  what  to  buy,  and  how  to 
take  care  of  it.  I  have  always  bought  for  cash,  or  on  thirty  or 
sixty  days'  time,  thereby  saving  from  ten  to  fifteen  per  cent.  All 
machinery  should  be  housed  as  soon  as  you  are  through  using 
it.  If  you  have  no  barn  or  machine  shed,  drive  some  posts  in 
the  ground,  lay  poles  across,  and  cover  with  hay  or  straw.  In 


580  STEELE   COUNTY,  MINNESOTA. 

new  countries  there  is  more  machinery  spoiled  by  neglect 
and  exposure  to  rain  and  the  hot  sun,  than  by  actual  wear. 

What  machinery  to  use,  depends  very  much  on  the  soil ,  if 
the  latter  is  sandy,  I  prefer  the  drill  for  seeding,  as  it  gets  in 
deeper  and  more  evenly.  I  use  both  broadcast  seeder  and 
drill  on  my  farm,  and  can  see  no  particular  difference.  I  sow 
my  clover  and  herd-grass  with  drill,  and  drag  once  after  it.  I 
use  the  John  Deere  sulky  plow,  and  think  it  a  great  improve- 
ment over  the  walking  plow.  I  have  used  the  Norwegian 
plow,  made  at  Beloit,  Wisconsin,  and  for  a  walking  plow  I 
like  it  very  much. 

In  cutting  my  grain  I  have  used  the  Marsh  harvested  for 
eight  years,  averaging  one  hundred  acres  per  year.  In  all  that 
time,  I  have  not  expended  over  six  dollars  for  repairs,  and  it 
does  as  good  work  as  ever.  What  is  true  with  the  harvester, 
holds  good  with  the  seeder,  mower,  horse  rake,  plows,  harrows, 
and,  in  fact,  all  implements  used  on  the  farm.  I  have  a  place 
for  every  tool,  and  see  that  it  is  in  its  place,  for  we  may  work 
ever  so  hard,  and  if  we  do  not  take  care  of  what  we  have,  we 
will  always  be  poor. 

BARN. 

My  stock  and  hay  barn  is  on  the  north  side  of  the  road,  with 
a  descent  to  the  north  ;  the  building  faces  the  south,  is  forty  by 
fifty  feet,  and  eighteen  feet  posted  ;  and  there  is  a  basement,  ten 
feet  high,  under  the  whole.  In  the  basement  I  have  for  my 
stock  two  tier  of  stalls,  forty  feet  each,  and  each  containing 
twelve  stanchions,  making  room  for  twenty-four  head  of  Battle. 
I  use  nine  feet,  from  the  stanchion  back  to  the  wall  or  partition, 
divided  as  follows  :  four  and  one-half  foot  platform  for  cows  to 
stand  on  ;  then  a  drop  fifteen  inches  wide  by  two  inches  deep, 
and  a  walk  of  three  feet,  back  of  drop.  My  feeding  alley  is 
ten  feet  wide,  and  the  stock  face  each  other.  I  allow  three 
feet  of  space  for  each  cow,  and  seven  inches  for  the  neck  when 
locked  in,  which  I  think  the  safest  and  most  convenient  way  of 
tying  up  cattle.  I  have  never  found  a  creature  loose,  after 
being  thus  fastened.  I  have  five  windows  in  my  basement, 
sixteen  by  thirty-six  inches,  hung  on  hinges,  to  admit  light  and 


DESCRIPTION  OF  BARN.  581 

fresh  air.     No  basement  is  complete  without  good  light  and 
ventilation. 

My-  horses  occupy  fourteen  feet  on  the  other  end  of  base- 
ment, with  a  six  foot  alley  in  front,  where  is  a  good  well  of 
water  with  pump  and  spout,  to  conduct  water  outside  in  a 
trough,  to  the  yard.  My  oats  for  horses  and  meal  for  cattle, 
are  brought  into  the  basement  by  spouts  from  bins  above.  My 
hay  is  taken  from  the  mow  to  the  barn  floor,  and  then  direct  to 
the  feeding  alleys  below.  In  the  second  story  is  a  twelve  feet 
floor,  running  lengthwise  of  the  barn ;  on  one  side  is  a  hay 
mow,  fourteen  by  fifty  feet ;  the  other  side  is  divided  as  fol- 
lows :  a  space  eight  by  fourteen  feet  is  used  for  oat  bins  and 
grain  for  stock,  giving  nearly  one-half  the  whole  space  for 
machinery,  wagons,  etc. ;  this  leaves  a  ten  by  fourteen  foot 
hay  mow,  the  whole  length  of  the  building  on  that  side  of  the 
barn  floor,  with  a  stairway  going  from  barn  floor  to  the  alley 
in  front  of  horses.  I  used  about  twenty  cords  of  stone  for  the 
basement  wall,  and  the  lower  side  of  the  drive-way,  which 
is  at  both  ends,  I  covered  with  second  quality  flooring,  and 
put  on  three  coats  of  paint.  I  have  a  good  ventilator  on  top 
of  barn,  and  a  weathercock  in  the  form  of  a  horse. 

I  am  farming  on  two  hundred  acres  of  prairie,  of  which  I 
use  about  one  hundred  acres  for  wheat  each  year,  seeding  to 
clover  more  or  less,  and  plowing  up  some  of  the  grass  ground* 

In  conclusion,  I  will  say  that  for  climate,  good  water, 
plenty  of  wood,  and  deep,  rich  soil,  Nature  has  done  as  much 
for  our  section  of  the  country  as  for  any  part  of  the  great 
Northwest, 


582 


DAKOTA  COUNTY,  MINNESOTA. 


P.  L.  SHARE, 

BOSEMONT,  DAKOTA  COUNTY. 

Admirable    Division    of   a    Quarter    Section  —  Fallowing  and 

Manuring. 


Lot  No.  1. 
20  Acres. 


Gate. 
II 


No.  2. 
20  Acres. 


Gate. 
II 


BU 

gS 


:  Lane.  ,,  = 


S3 

ol 


s    • 
g     2 

1  3 


Gate. 


No.  3. 
20  Acres. 


No.  4. 
20  Acres. 


I  have  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  under  cultivation  and 
laid  off  in  fields  as  per  plan.  You  will  see  that  I  have  no  land 
wasted  for  drive-way  but  the  lane  from  the  barnyard  into  the 
pasture  lot.  The  pasture  field  is  permanent,  and  has  now  been 
in  grass  for  fifteen  years,  and  is  seeded  with  timothy  and  blue 
grass,  which  have  produced  immense  crops.  During  1879,  I 
kept  on  full  feed  sixteen  head  of  stock  until  ground  was  covered 


MANURING  —  MIXED  HUSBANDHY.  583 

with  snow.  I  do  my  farming  differently  from  many  in  Minne- 
sota. In  the  first  place,  I  take  only  three  crops  from  the 
ground,  and  then  manure  heavily  and  Summer  fallow  every 
third  year.  I  sod  twenty  acres  with  timothy,  and  clear  for 
mowing,  which  gives  me  twenty  acres  sod  to  plow  every  third 
year,  though  each  year  I  have  twenty  acres  fallow.  By  this 
course  I  have  only  eighty  acres  in  grain  each  year.  I  find  my 
fallow  ground  produces  as  well  as,  if  not  better  than  the 
first  crop  from  prairie  sod.  I  have  great  faith  in  barnyard 
manure.  I  burn  no  straw,  stable  all  my  stock,  convert  the 
straw  into  manure,  drawing  out  from  two  to  three  hundred  loads 
yearly  on  my  fallow  ground. 


JAMES  T.  PRICE, 

EYOTA,   OLMSTEAD   COUNTY. 

Mixed  Husbandry  —  Buildings  —  Fruit  —  Artificial    G-roves  — 

Stock. 

This  farm  is  located  in  Olmstead  county,  Minnesota,  one 
and  a  half  miles  south  of  the  village  of  Eyota,  through  which 
that  great  thoroughfare,  the  Chicago  &  Northwestern  railroad, 
passes.  I  have  over  six  hundred  acres  in  my  farm.  I  have 
grown  wheat  with  profit  for  twenty  years,  and  this  grain  has 
yielded  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  bushels  per  acre.  My  prac- 
tice is  to  pursue  a  rotation  of  crops,  wheat,  oats,  barley,  corn, 
and  roots  of  various  kinds,  keeping  nearly  one-half  of  my  land 
in  clover  and  timothy.  In  the  year  1879,  I  had  seventy  acres 
of  clover  seed  to  thresh,  that  yielded  six  bushels  per  acre.  The 
land  is  rolling,  and  was,  before  being  cleared,  burr  oak  and  hazel 
brush  land.  My  farm  is  under  a  good  state  of  cultivation. 

BUILDINGS. 

I  have  two  good  dwelling  houses  for  laborers,  besides  my 
large  two-story  dwelling.  My  front  yard  is  supplied  with  a  liberal 


584  OLMSTEAD  COUNTY,  MINNESOTA. 

variety  of   shrubbery.     I  have  a  large  and    well   cultivated 
vegetable  garden. 

I  have  two  large  barns,  with  a  number  of  sheds  and  stables 
for  the  protection  of  stock.  Six  or  seven  acres  are  inclosed 
and  divided  up  for  the  comfort  and  safety  of  stock.  My  farm 
has  an  abundant  supply  of  good  water,  as  it  has  a  number  of 
living  springs  and  seven  wells,  with  wind  power  for  some  of 
the  wells.  My  yards  and  buildings  are  protected  by  forty-five 
acres  of  natural  and  seventeen  acres  of  artificial  groves. 

FRUIT. 

My  orchard  contains  five  acres,  in  which  I  have  planted  a 
variety  of  fruit.  I  prefer  the  Duchess  and  the  Wealthy  apple, 
considering  them  best  and  safest  to  raise  in  this  State.  Of  the 
small  fruits,  I  have  currants,  strawberries,  and  grapes,  all  of 
which  have  proved  a  success. 

ARTIFICIAL  GROVES. 

My  artificial  groves  containing  Lombardy  poplar,  cotton- 
wood,  willow,  soft  maple,  Balm  of  Gilead,  European  larch,  and 
some  two  hundred  evergreens.  I  have  one  hundred  and  sixty 
rods  of  willow  for  hedge,  but  I  think  Barberry  wood  is  much 
better  for  that  purpose.  I  have  six  hundred  and  eighty  rods 
of  shade  trees  on  the  sides  of  the  road,  one  rod  apart.  My 
farm  is  inclosed  by  four  hundred  and  sixty  rods  of  wire  fence. 
The  remainder  is  fenced  with  boards  and  rails. 

STOCK. 

My  stock  numbers  horses,  some  cattle  of  a  good  quality, 
and  some  twenty  hogs,  but  I  make  a  specialty  of  sheep. 

I  keep  six  hundred  of  these  animals,  of  the  very  best 
breed,  which  produce  over  four  thousand  pounds  of  wool  each 
year.  My  method  of  feeding  my  stock  is  to  give  considerable 
straw,  oats,  and  corn  to  horses ,  corn  to  cattle,  sheep,  and 
swine,  which  makes  beef,  pork,  and  mutton  in  the  Winter.  I 
have  used  various  kinds  of  fertilizers,  but  find  clover  and  stock 
are  the  two  best.  My  land  is  a  deep  brown  clay  loam,  with  a 
clav  subsoil. 


NEBRASKA. 


CHARLES  H.  WALKER, 

BLOOMINGTON,   FRANKLIN  COUNTY. 

Timber    Culture    A  ct —  Its   Provisions  —  How    Carried    Out  — 
Congress  Assists  —  Russian  Furnaces. 

THE   TIMBER   CULTURE   ACT. 

The  passage  of  the  Timber  Culture  Act,  in  1873,  inau- 
gurated a  new  era  in  forest  culture.  Much  had  been  written 
of  its  importance.  Legislatures  had  fostered  it  by  exemptions 
from  taxation.  Agricultural  societies  had  offered  premiums 
for  its  encouragement,  and  the  Nebraska  State  Board  of  Agri- 
culture, as  a  further  stimulant,  had  appointed  a  day  annually 
to  be  observed  in  planting  fruit  trees,  which  it  designated  as 
"Arbor  Day."  All  of  these  means  had  been  resorted  to  in 
endeavoring  to  create  an  interest  in  the  cultivation  of  forest 
trees,  and  resulted  in  but  limited  success.  The  masses  still 
remained  indifferent  to  its  importance.  As  a  crop  to  be  raised 
and  marketed,  the  returns  were  too  slow.  As  an  improve- 
ment, there  were  too  many  that  took  precedent.  Timber  was 
recognized  as  an  agreeable  protection,  but  it  was  regarded  as  an 
expensive  luxury. 

THE  PROVISIONS  OF    THE  ACT. 

The  Timber  Culture  Act  of  1873,  provided  that  one  tim- 
ber culture  entry  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  could  be 
taken  on  each  section  of  land  naturally  devoid  of  timber ;  that 
forty  acres  should  be  broken  within  three,  and  planted  within 
four  years  to  timber,  in  rows  not  exceeding  twelve  feet  apart 
each  way.  And  upon  proof  that  it  had  been  kept  in  a  good 

585 


586          FRANKLIN  COUNTY,  NEBRASKA. 

healthy  and  growing  condition,  at  the  expiration  of  ten  years  a 
patent  should  be  issued  for  it. 

The  provisions  were  considered  so  liberal  that  large  num- 
bers of  claims  were  soon  taken,  wherever  the  public  lands 
were  receiving  settlers.  As  a  result,  people  heretofore  indif- 
ferent, were  at  once  engaged  in  investigating  the  most  econ- 
omical system  for  cultivating  them.  A  theory  became  preva- 
lent that  by  plowing  strips  six  feet  wide  for  each  row,  a  saving 
of  one-half  of  the  breaking  could  be  made,  without  expense 
to  the  growing  timber ;  but  the  first  experiments  proved  it  was 
not  economy.  The  entire  ground  needed  breaking  to  receive 
and  absorb  the  water  that  fell,  and  so  this  practice  was  aban- 
doned. 

MISTAKES   IN   PLANTING. 

Some  of  the  early  timber  culture  claims  were  planted  with 
trees  from  six  and  eight  feet  high,  but  those  who  planted 
thrifty  young  trees,  from  eighteen  inches  to  two  feet  high,  or 
who  sowed  seed,  met  with  far  better  results,  and  the  practice 
of  planting  large  trees  within  the  forest  or  orchard  has  gener- 
ally been  given  up.  It  has  been  found  impracticable  to  trans- 
plant large  trees  with  sufficient  roots  to  feed  themselves,  even 
with  the  tops  cut  back.  They  start  slow,  and  in  their  thrift- 
less condition  are  more  subject  to  the  ravages  of  insects,  while 
the  economy  of  labor  in  transplanting  is  greatly  in  favor  of 
the  young  trees ;  but  the  more  universal  practice  now  is  to 
plant  the  seed  where  the  trees  are  to  grow.  It  is  true  that 
they  can  be  cultivated  more  cheaply  the  first  season  in  a  nur- 
sery, but  considering  the  expense  in  transplanting,  and  the  loss 
in  doing  it,  together  with  the  more  vigorous  growth  they  make 
if  undisturbed,  it  is  considered  economy  to  plant  the  seed 
where  they  are  to  be  grown. 

It  was  soon  discovered  that  young  trees  planted  twelve 
feet  apart  threw  out  strong  lateral  branches,  instead  of  one 
straight,  vigorous  shoot ;  that  they  grew  low  and  bushy,  lack- 
ing in  characteristic  symmetry,  and  that  they  would  prove  less 
valuable  for  timber  purposes,  than  if  grown  with  a  longer 
trunk.  With  this  knowledge  it  soon  became  a  practice  to 


THE  TIMBER  CULTURE  LAW.  587 

plant  much  thicker  than  required  by  law,  with  the  view  to 
thinning  out  as  the  trees  increased  in  size. 

CHANGES   IN  THE   LAW. 

The  attention  of  Congress  was  called  to  this  fact,  and  in 
1878  the  law  was  radically  changed,  so  as  to  require  but  ten 
acres  to  be  planted  in  timber.  It  further  required  they  should 
be  planted  four  feet  apart,  or  twenty-seven  hundred  trees  in 
round  numbers  to  the  acre  ;  that  five  acres  should  be  broken 
the  first  year,  prepared  for  the  planting  during  the  second  year, 
and  that  they  should  be  planted  the  third  year ;  that  the  second 
five  acres  should  be  broken  the  second  year,  prepared  for  plant- 
ing the  third  year,  and  planted  the  fourth  year ;  and  that  if  the 
timber  were  kept  in  a  growing  condition  (provided  not  less 
than  six  hundred  and  seventy-five  trees  were  thus  growing  on 
each  acre),  a  patent  should  be  issued  for  the  quarter  section  of 
land  at  the  expiration  of  eight  years. 

PRODUCTIVE  OF  GOOD  RESULTS. 

The  amendment  was  a  wise  one.  Experience  had  taught 
that  too  much  had  been  required  under  the  old  law.  Many 
that  desired  to  avail  themselves  of  its  benefits  had  not  the 
means  to  faithfully  comply  with  its  requirements.  There  is 
little  room  left  for  improvement,  except  Congress  should  pro- 
vide that  one-quarter  of  each  section  should  be  set  apart  for 
the  cultivation  of  timber,  and  that  if  the  tract  at  any  time  be 
abandoned,  it  could  only  be  taken  again  under  the  Timber 
Culture  Act.  In  that  event  there  would  be  at  least  one  grove 
of  ten  acres  on  every  section,  whereas,  under  the  present  law, 
a  timber  culture  entry  may  be  relinquished,  and  converted  into 
a  homestead  or  pre-emption  entry,  and  the  country  thereby 
deprived  of  the  influence  the  forest  would  exert.  It  would 
also  tend  to  discourage  speculation  in  this  class  of  claims.  In 
this  connection  it  is  also  thought  that  it  would  be  a  wholesome 
amendment  to  the  homestead  law,  if  it  was  amended  so  that  at 
least  four  acres  of  timber  be  required  on  all  homesteads  on 
prairie  lands,  before  proof  could  be  made.  The  indirect 
influence  of  the  Timber  Culture  Act  in  educating  the  masses 


588  FRANKLIN  COUNTY,  NEBRASKA. 

in  the  art  of  growing  timber,  is  not  among  the  least  of  the 
benefits  that  have  grown  out  of  it.  The  planting  of  a  few 
thousand  trees  in  communities  where  the  law  has  been  opera- 
tive, is  not  now  considered  much  of  a  feat ;  whereas,  in  com- 
munities where  it  has  not  been  in  operation,  it  is  regarded  as 
an  onerous  task.  Many  homes  are  surrounded  by  beautiful 
groves,  that  owe  their  existence  to  a  cultivated  taste  and 
knowledge  received  through  practical  lessons  taught  by  expe- 
rience in  cultivating  timber  claims  under  this  act ;  and  from 
our  standpoint  it  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  result  of  its 
influence  upon  the  country  a  generation  hence. 

HOW  AND   WHAT  TO   PLANT. 

The  timber  is  usually  planted  in  a  solid  body,  without 
reference  to  any  laws  of  landscape  architecture,  but  there  are 
some  who  give  attention  to  the  effects  in  laying  out  their 
grove.  It  would  add  greatly  to  the  beauty  of  the  country,  and 
would  give  it  an  appearance  of  greater  thrift,  if  all  did ;  but 
so  few  are  educated  in  that  science  that  it  can  not  be  expected. 
The  inquiry  that  is  being  made  with  regard  to  different  kinds 
of  timber  not  indigenous  to  the  soil,  is  a  step  in  that  direction. 
At  first  the  timber  almost  universally  planted  was  cottonwood, 
but  box  elder,  ash,  maple,  elm  and  black  walnut  soon  found  a 
place  in  the  list,  and  now  the  oaks  and  ashes,  foreign  to  the 
soil,  butternuts,  chestnuts,  catalpa,  and  many  other  deciduous 
trees,  have  been  added  to  the  list,  and  in  some  instances  soon 
grew. 

FRUIT   CULTURE. 

The  influence  of  the  Timber  Culture  Law  has  not  been 
confined  to  forest  culture.  It  has  awakened  a  spirit  of  inquiry 
on  the  subject  of  fruit  culture  also.  Farmers  are  learning  that 
they  can  propagate  their  own  fruit  trees  as  well  as  their  own 
forest  trees,  and  many  that  would  not  have  felt  able  to  make  a 
bill  of  fruit  trees  for  an  orchard  for  years  to  come,  are  starting 
in  a  modest  way  from  the  seed  or  the  root  graft. 

In  conclusion,  I  predict  that  in  a  very  few  years  the  most 


HAY  OVEN.  589 

beautiful  part  of  the  prairie  country  of  the  West  will  be  found 
where  the  influence  of  the  Timber  Culture  Act  has  been  felt. 

THE    MENNONITES. 

Within  the  last  few  years  there  has  been  an  immigration  of 
Germans  from  Russia  into  different  parts  of  the  West.  They 
entertain  a  peculiar  religious  faith,  and  among  other  things 
are  non-combatants.  About  one  hundred  years  ago  they  made 
a  treaty  with  Russia  that  exempted  them  from  military  duty, 
and  settled  in  a  country  in  the  south  of  Russia,  similarly  desti- 
tute of  timber  to  our  own  Western  prairies.  As  the  term  of 
their  treaty  was  about  to  expire  so  that  they  would  be  subject  to 
military  duty,  they  have  sought  an  asylum  in  the  United  States. 

HAY   OVEN. 

They  have  brought  with  them  many  ideas  of  economy  that 
were  not  understood  by  our  own  people,  and  among  them  a 
peculiar  furnace  for  heating  and  cooking,  in  which  they  use 
light  fuel,  such  as  straw,  hay,  cornstalks,  or  weeds.  It  is  built 
in  the  side  of  a  room,  and  forms  part  of  a  partition,  so  that 
one  unacquainted  with  it  would  mistake  it  for  a  closet.  It  is 
made  to  heat  two  or  more  rooms,  according  to  the  conveniences 
of  the  internal  structure  of  the  house. 

In  the  coldest  weather  it  requires  but  two  fires  a  day  to 
keep  an  "ordinary  room  comfortable.  They  are  constructed 
both  for  simply  heating,  and  for  heating  and  cooking,  and  only 
differ  in  the  building  of  an  oven  in  those  that  are  intended  for 
cooking.  Articles  to  be  cooked,  whether  to  be  boiled  or  baked, 
are  set  in  the  oven  and  the  door  is  closed.  Furnaces  are  also 
built  in  which  large  kettles  are  set  for  heating  water. 

The  principle  might  be  adapted  as  well  to  heating  arrange- 
ments for  greenhouses,  poultry  houses,  and  farm  hospitals  for 
the  comfort  and  safety  of  sows,  ewes,  cows  or  mares  about  to 
have  young,  and  unquestionably  would  be  a  profitable  invest- 
ment in  the  West,  where  so  much  roughness  is  wasted.  Its 
safety  from  fire  should  strongly  recommend  it.  It  could  also 
be  arranged  with  economy,  for  evaporating  fruit  and  vegetables. 

The  accompanying  illustration  shows  the  construction  of  a 


590 


FRANKLIN  COUNTY,  NEBRASKA. 


furnace  in  house  near  Fairbury,  Jefferson  county,  Nebraska, 
and  will  serve  to  illustrate  the  principle.  With  a  little  inven- 
tive genius  it  could  be  changed  to  meet  the  wants  of  any 
requirement.  It  is  constructed  of  brick,  except  the  doors  and 
dampers,  which  are  of  iron,  and  are  made  as  nearly  air-tight  as 
possible — at  least  as  nearly  so  as  are  ordinary  stove  doors. 

In  the  one  described,  three  armsful  of  cornstalks,  the 
refuse  from  the  manger,  each  about  what  a  person  could  carry 
under  his  arm,  constituted  the  fuel  for  the  morning  fire. 


When  the  fire  is  being  kindled  the  damper  is  kept  open, 
the  fuel  put  in  by  handsful  and  allowed  to  burn  to  a  coal. 
When  it  ceases  blazing  the  door  and  damper  is  closed,  and  the 
heated  air  retained  in  the  furnace.  The  furnace  herein  illus- 
trated cost  twenty -five  dollars.  Suitable  castings  are  kept  by 
many  of  our  leading  stove  dealers.  When  not,  they  may  be 
ordered  from  the  manufacturers.  The  dimensions  of  this  fur- 
nace are  five  and  one-half  feet  long,  seven  feet  high,  and 
twenty-eight  inches  wide. 


CHEAP  OUT -BUILDINGS.  591 

In  a  well  finished  house  it  should  be  plastered.  In  furna- 
ces made  exclusively  for  heating  purposes,  sheet  iron  is  used  to 
conduct  the  heated  air  backward  and  forward  in  the  furnace. 
The  bottom  of  the  oven  is  made  of  plate  iron  eight  inches  wide, 
which  is  supported  by  iron  tiles,  an  edge  resting  on  each 
flange  of  the  tile.  The  shape  of  the  tile  or  a  sectional  diagram 
looks  something  like  this :  i— i p 


ANDREW  SULZMAN, 

TECUMSEH,   JOHNSON    COUNTY. 

Cheap  Out-Buildings —  Timber  Culture —  Orchard —  Corn  and 

Stock. 

In  the  Spring  of  1868, 1  located  here,  on  wild  prairie,  two 
miles  east  of  Tecumseh,  the  county  seat  of  Johnson  county, 
Nebraska,  and  one  mile  east  of  the  great  Nemaha  river.  My 
farm  contains  three  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  prairie  land, 
being  surrounded  by  a  good  Osage  orange  hedge,  and  a  belt  of 
timber,  about  three  rods  wide,  on  the  north  side.  I  have 
inclosed  ten  acres  with  a  hedge  and  a  belt  of  timber,  two  rods 
wide,  for  orchard,  building  site,  and  stock  lots,  but  find  I  have 
scarcely  room  enough,  and  might  better  have  enclosed  twenty 
acres  instead  of  ten. 

BUILDINGS. 

My  buildings  at  present  are  not  very  extensive,  but  I 
design  to  make  considerable  improvement.  My  house  is  eigh- 
teen by  twenty-six,  one  and  one-half  stories  high,  with  a  good 
basement  for  kitchen  and  cellar.  I  have  one  good  smoke 
house,  and  one  granary,  but  my  barn  and  sheds  are  temporary. 
I  built  my  sheds  of  rough  lumber,  poles  and  straw.  My  cattle 
shed  is  sixteen  feet  wide,  and  about  eighty  feet  long,  having  its 
north  side  and  each  end  boarded  up  six  feet  high,  with  ridge 


592  JOHNSON   COUNTY,  NEBRASKA. 

pole  in  center  about  eight  feet  high,  then  rafters,  made  of  poles, 
from  sides  to  center,  and  long  brush  laid  across  the  rafters ; 
stack  my  grain  near  by,  and  when  threshing,  run  the  straw  on 
the  shed,  and  make  the  roof  in  the  shape  of  a  straw  rick.  I 
make  my  hog  sheds  the  same  way,  but  not  quite  so  high.  The 
above  make  cheap  and  comfortable  sheds,  lasting  from  six  to 
eight  years. 

TIMBER. 

In  the  Spring  of  1870,  I  planted  eight  acres  with  timber, 
of  several  varieties — black  walnut,  soft  maple,  cottonwood, 
and  box  elder.  For  black  walnut  I  plowed  my  land  and  made 
furrows  with  the  plow  eight  feet  apart.  I  planted  the  nuts,  as 
soon  as  the  same  were  matured,  from  four  to  six  feet  apart. 
They  sprouted  and  came  up  the  following  Spring,  and  I  culti- 
vated the  same  for  about  four  years,  keeping  them  as  clean 
from  weeds  as  I  would  my  cornfield,  and  the  lower  limbs 
trimmed  off.  My  trees  are  now  from  six  to  eight  inches  in 
diameter,  and  have  produced  nuts  for  two  seasons.  I  planted 
the  seed  of  my  soft  maples  as  soon  as  the  same  was  matured, 
sometime  in  May,  about  the  same  distance  apart  as  the  black 
walnut,  and  cultivated  the  same.  I  raised  my  cottonwood  from 
cuttings,  planted  about  the  same  distance  apart,  and  cultivated 
the  same  as  the  former.  I  got  some  young  box  elder  trees  in 
the  timber,  and  transplanted  early  in  Spring.  I  have  also  some 
honey  locust,  from  the  seed,  which  were  planted  in  nursery 
rows,  transplanted  at  two  years  old,  and  cultivated  for  several 
years.  According  to  my  experience,  the  black  walnut  and 
honey  locust  are  the  best  varieties  of  forest  trees  that  we 
can  plant  for  groves,  either  for  beauty,  protection,  or  timber. 
The  cottonwood  grows  much  the  fastest,  but  nothing  else  will 
grow  within  four  rods  of  it.  Cottonwood  trees  should  not  be 
planted  for  a  belt  around  a  farm  or  orchard,  because  they 
send  their  roots  out  in  every  direction,  at  least  the  distance 
of  the  tree's  hight,  absorbing  all  the  moisture  in  the  soil,  con- 
sequently you  can  not  successfully  grow  an  Osage  orange 
hedge,  or  fruit  trees,  within  reach  of  their  roots. 


PLANTING  AN  ORCHARD.  593 

ORCHARD. 

I  have  six  acres  in  an  apple  orchard.  Nine  years  ago  I 
planted  one  hundred  and  twenty  trees,  which  have  been  bear- 
ing for  three  years,  producing  fine  fruit.  The  remainder,  about 
two  hundred  and  fifty  trees,  I  planted  two  years  ago.  Pre- 
vious to  planting  my  trees,  I  plowed  and  harrowed  the  land ; 
then  took  a  good  team  and  plow,  and  laid  off  the  distance  I 
wanted  my  trees  apart.  I  commenced  on  one  side  of  my 
orchard,  set  three  stakes  and  ran  three  furrows,  plowing  one 
each  way,  and  leaving  a  middle  of  about  eight  inches  wide.  I 
plowed  out  the  same  with  the  third  furrow,  having  a  man  to 
bear  on  the  plow  beam  all  the  time,  and  plowed  as  deep  as  the 
team  was  able  to  draw  the  plow.  I  next  measured  the  dis- 
tance for  the  second  row  of  trees,  plowed  the  same,  and  so 
continued  until  the  rows  were  all  laid  off  one  way.  I  then 
crossed  the  furrows,  and  laid  off  the  other  way  in  the  same 
manner,  three  furrows  to  the  row.  In  preparing  my  land  in 
this  way,  I  accomplished  two  objects.  First,  I  made  easy  the 
task  of  planting,  because  very  little  digging  was  required  ;  and 
second,  the  subsoil  being  loosened,  afforded  an  under  drain  for 
surplus  water.  In  my  first  orchard  I  planted  three-year  old 
trees,  which  did  well ;  in  the  last  orchard  I  planted  two,  three, 
and  four-year  old  trees,  but  I  would  not  plant  four-year  old 
trees  again  if  they  were  furnished  me  gratis.  Two-year  old 
trees  are  the  most  desirable,  because  they  require  less  labor  in 
planting,  are  surer,  and  more  vigorous  in  growing,  and  a  proper 
head  can  be  formed  with  less  injury  to  the  tree.  Four-year 
old  trees  generally  have  been  neglected  in  the  nursery,  conse- 
quently they  require  considerable  trimming  to  form  a  proper 
head,  and  this  will  make  them  rough  and  knotty.  I  think  a 
low  headed  tree  is  the  best  for  this  country.  I  formed  mine 
from  two  to  three  feet  from  the  ground,  and  then  kept  trim- 
ming them  to  give  a  good  shape  to  the  trees.  Those  that  are 
inclined  upwards  require  trimming  only  inside.  I  think  it 
improves  an  orchard  to  fertilize  the  land,  the  trees  will  grow 
more  thriftily  and  smoother.  I  planted  my  first  orchard 
38 


594  JOHNSON  COUNTY,  NEBRASKA. 

eighteen  feet  apart,  and  the  last  thirty  feet,  but  I  think  twenty- 
five  feet  is  the  proper  distance  for  a  prairie  country. 

I  planted  pears,  peaches,  and  cherries.  My  pears  are  too 
young  to  bear,  but  do  well  in  this  country.  I  have  had  great 
success  with  peaches  and  cherries.  I  planted  all  kinds  of 
small  fruit,  which  I  always  mulch,  to  keep  the  ground  moist 
and  fertilize  it.  Cultivating  disturbs  the  roots. 

GRAPES. 

I  am  growing  the  Concord  grape,  this  variety  being  the  most 
profitable  for  farmers  to  raise  in  this  latitude,  because  it  is 
hard}r,  does  not  require  covering  in  Winter,  and  bears  well. 
I  made  the  rows  six  feet  wide,  and  planted  eight  feet  apart  in 
the  row.  I  set  posts  and  stretched  two  lines  of  fence  wire  to 
train  the  vines  on.  I  trim  in  Winter,  and  pinch  the  ends  of 
the  runners  during  the  growing  season.  This  is  a  good  coun- 
try for  grapes,  because  the  atmosphere  is  pure  and  dry,  conse- 
quently they  are  not  so  liable  to  mildew  and  rot. 

BERRIES. 

Am  succeeding  with  currants  and  gooseberries,  the  former 
of  which  will  not  do  well  without  mulching.  I  always  have  a 
bed  of  strawberries  sufficient  for  home  consumption.  Some- 
times I  plant  in  rows  three  feet  apart,  and  cultivate  between. 
In  the  Spring  of  1878,  I  planted  a  bed  in  rows  eighteen  inches 
apart,  kept  them  clean  the  first  year,  then  let  them  run  together, 
and  the  second  season  we  had  a  good  crop.  I  cover  these  with 
straw  late  in  the  Fall.  Many  farmers  neglect  small  fruit  alto- 
gether, which  should  not  be,  for  they  are  valuable  for  the  table, 
and  pay  well  for  the  labor  expended. 

To  be  successful  in  farming,  I  find  it  necessary  to  lay  well 
matured  plans  for  a  following  season's  operations,  and  execute 
them  according  to  the  best  of  my  ability.  I  am  compelled 
sometimes  to  make  slight  changes,  but  on  the  whole,  I  aim  to 
carry  them  out. 

I  run  a  grain  and  stock  farm,  selling  my  wheat,  which  is 
shipped  to  Chicago  and  St.  Louis.  I  feed  all  my  corn,  oats, 
rye,  and  hay,  designing  to  increase  my  stock,  because  it  pays 


MACHINERY  AND  IMPLEMENTS.  595 

much  better  to  condense  our  grain  and  convert  the  same  into 
pork,  beef,  mutton,  and  wool.  It  costs  about  eighteen  cents 
per  bushel  to  ship  corn  from  here  to  Chicago,  margin  and  com- 
mission included,  whereas,  if  converted  into  pork,  it  costs  about 
eight  cents  per  bushel,  and  if  converted  into  beef  about  five 
cents  per  bushel  transportation. 

MACHINERY  AND  IMPLEMENTS. 

I  use  Haines  header  to  harvest  my  grain,  but  I  would 
prefer  to  have  it  cut  with  a  harvester,  and  bound,  in  order  to 
stack  the  grain  near  my  stock  lot,  where  the  straw  is  needed. 
To  save  grain  in  good  condition  with  a  header,  it  must  be 
well  matured,  free  from  weeds,  and  stacked  in  narrow  ricks. 

I  use  the  Win  sulky  plow,  an  iron  beam,  three-horse 
stirring  plow,  and  a  large  three-horse  harrow.  It  does  .not  pay 
to  either  plow  or  harrow  with  one  team  in  this  country.  One 
man  can  just  as  well  plow  three  acres  per  day  as  two,  and  har- 
row twenty  acres  instead  of  ten  or  twelve.  All  that  is  required 
is  a  proper  implement  and  three  good  horses  or  mules.  I  use 
Brown's  corn  planter,  but  the  Keystone  is  just  as  good.  I 
have  not  tested  the  check  rower  myself,  but  I  believe  it  to  be 
a  success.  I  use  the  Wier  cultivator.  There  is  a  certain 
amount  of  machinery  required  on  a  farm,  but  the  farmers  in 
this  western  country  have  purchased  entirely  too  much  machin- 
ery for  their  own  benefit.  A  machine  is  expensive,  consequently 
it  should  save  labor ;  but  if  there  are  too  many  in  use,  this 
object  is  not  accomplished.  For  instance,  two  farmers  that 
raise  one  hundred  acres  of  small  grain  purchase  each  a  grain 
harvester  of  some  kind,  when  one  machine  could  harvest  the 
grain  for  both,  if  properly  managed.  Then  the  expenses  of 
harvesting  are  increased  by  the  purchase  of  a  machine  not 
needed,  and  in  the  hiring  of  extra  help  which  it  made  necessary. 

LAND   UNDER   CULTIVATION. 

I  cultivate  two  hundred  acres  in  grain,  ten  in  oats,  twenty 
in  rye,  seventy  in  wheat,  and  one  hundred  acres  in  corn.  I 
have  fifty  acres  in  timothy  and  blue  grass  for  pasture,  and 
intend  to  seed  down  more.  To  prepare  my  land  for  grass,  I 


596  JOHNSON  COUNTY,  NEBRASKA. 

plow  immediately  after  harvest,  and  harrow  several  times 
previous  to  sowing.  I  sow  from  the  middle  to  the  latter  part 
of  August,  about  one  peck  of  timothy  and  three  pounds  of  blue 
grass  seed,  per  acre  ;  harrow  once  after  seeding.  My  grass 
generally  comes  up  quick,  and  makes  a  good  growth  the  same 
Fall,  being  prepared  to  withstand  the  Winter.  The  blue  grass 
does  not  make  much  appearance  the  first  season,  but  will  in- 
crease and  eventually  drive  out  the  timothy.  I  prepared  my 
land  the  same  way,  when  I  seeded  my  house  yard,  eight  years 
ago,  but  sowed  two-thirds  of  blue  grass  to  one-third  of  timothy, 
and  the  blue  grass  has  taken  full  possession,  making  a  nice  lawn. 
I  have  generally  succeeded,  by  preparing  my  land  well  and 
sowing  grass  seed  in  August.  If  there  are  thin  spots  on  the 
land,  it  will  pay  to  fertilize  with  barnyard  manure,  previous  to 
plowing  the  land,  but  if  this  be  neglected,  top  dress  in  the 
Fall.  I  have  no  meadow  of  tame  grass,  as  I  make  prairie  hay, 
but  the  rule  given  above  will  hold  good  for  seeding  of  meadows, 
omitting  the  blue  grass.  I  consider  tame  grass  valuable  for 
pasture ;  it  is  true  we  have  plenty  of  prairie  to  herd  our  stock 
on,  but  we  need  tame  pasture  for  early  Spring  and  Fall. 

WHEAT. 

For  wheat,  if  I  sow  stubble  land,  I  plow  it  immediately 
after  harvest;  by  so  doing  the  rubbish  will  decompose  au^  pro- 
vide a  fertilizer  for  the  crop.  I  harrow  my  land  at  leas  twice, 
to  make  it  compact,  and  keep  the  weeds  from  growinj-  If  I 
sow  Fall  wheat,  I  begin  the  latter  part  of  August,  or  the  first 
of  September,  and  drill  about  one  bushel  and  a  peck,  per  acre. 
I  harvest  my  wheat  with  the  Haines  header,  and  stack  well  in 
narrow  ricks.  To  save  wheat  with  a  header,  and  make  a  good 
quality,  the  former  should  be  well  matured  and  free  from  weeds. 

If  I  sow  Spring  wheat,  I  prepare  my  land  the  same  as  for 
Fall,  and  sow  as  early  as  the  land  is  in  good  condition,  generally 
in  March,  but  sometimes  in  February.  When  I  sow  on  corn- 
stalk land,  I  cultivate  after  sowing  one  bushel  and  a  half  per 
acre,  then  harrow  with  a  heavy  harrow,  in  order  to  level  the 
land.  I  generally  succeed  well  in  corn  land. 


COST  OF  WHEAT  — CORN.  597 

Spring  wheat  has  not  paid  me  well  for  the  last  four  years, 
the  yield  being  light.  When  my  land  was  new,  my  average 
yield  was  about  twenty  bushels  per  acre,  but  of  late,  fifteen 
bushels  is  a  good  average.  Winter  wheat  has  succeeded  better 
of  late.  I  intend  to  change  my  way  of  farming,  raise  more 
corn  and  less  wheat,  and  engage  more  in  the  rearing  and  feed- 
ing of  cattle. 

The  following  is  an  estimate  of  cost  and  net  proceeds,  of 
raising  ten  acres  of  wheat,  which  I  base  011  the  average  yield 
of  the  farm  for  Spring  wheat ;  the  yield  of  Winter  wheat  has 
been  better: 

Rent  for  ten  acres  of  land,  $20.00 

Plowing  land,  -      10.00 

Fifteen  bushels  of  seed,       -  10.50 

SoAving,  3.00 

Harrowing,  1.50 

Harvesting,    -  -      12.50 

Threshing,  12.00 

Marketing,     -  3.00 

Cost  of  producing,       -  $72.50 

Yield  per  acre,  18  bushels,  ten  acres,  180 

bushels. 

At  70  cents  per  bushel,  -  $126.00 

Net  proceeds  per  acre,  $5.35,  or  ten  acres,  $53.50 

CORN. 

Corn  is  a  sure  and  valuable  crop,  yielding  a  larger  net 
profit  than  almost  any  other  crop  we  can  produce  in  this 
county.  In  order  to  produce  a  good  crop,  I  plow  my  land  well 
to  a  good  depth,  and  harrow  before  planting.  I  mark  my  land 
three  feet  and  a  half,  and  plant  north  and  south  three  feet 
nine  inches.  My  reason  for  planting  and  laying-by  north  and 
south,  is  that  our  severe  wind  storms  generally  come  from 
either  the  north  or  south,  and  if  laid  by  the  same  way,  a  brace 
will  be  made  to  keep  the  corn  from  blowing  down.  It  is  also 
more  convenient  to  gather,  because  what  corn  is  blown  down 
lies  parallel  with  the  rows,  and  is  not  crossed  by  the  wagon.  I 


598  JOHNSON  COUNTY,  NEBKASKA. 

harrow  twice  before  my  corn  comes  up ;  the  first  time,  soon 
after  it  is  plowed,  and  the  List  time,  when  it  begins  to  make  its 
appearance.  By  so  doing,  I  check  the  weeds  and  keep  my 
laud  clean  until  the  corn  is  large  enough  to  cultivate.  I  culti- 
vate corn  to  keep  weeds  from  growing,  not  to  destroy  them 
after  they  have  a  good  start.  I  therefore  commence  when  the 
corn  is  small,  usually  cultivating  four  times,  and  the  first  time 
plowing  so  close  that  weeds  have  no  chance  at  all  to  start.  I 
always  cultivate  deep,  but  deepest  and  nearest  to  the  corn 
while  it  is  small.  When  I  lay-by,  I  gauge  my  cultivators  wide 
apart.  Corn  should  be  perfectly  clean  before  it  is  laid  by. 
Men  that  have  a  weedy  cornfield  generally  plow  near  to  the 
corn,  and  deep  when  laying  by,  which  is  injurious  to  corn, 
because  it  destroys  the  roots.  I  collect  my  seed  corn  in  the 
Fall,  when  I  unload  my  corn  in  the  crib,  and  store  the  same 
where  the  cob  can  dry  out.  I  select  large,  well  shaped,  and 
matured  ears,  and  never  plant  a  small  variety  of  corn,  because 
it  does  not  yield  as  much  as  the  large  variety ;  the  latter  grows 
deeper  into  the  soil,  extends  its  roots  out  further,  and  conse- 
quently produces  larger  stalks  and  ears  than  the  small.  In 
preparing  my  seed  I  reject  some  from  each  end  of  the  ear,  but 
the  most  from  the  small  end.  By  so  doing  I  can  plant  with 
less  variation,  because  the  grains  are  of  uniform  size.  I  plant 
as  early  as  the  soil  is  in  condition  ;  generally  beginning  about 
the  middle  of  April,  and  completing  the  same  the  first  week  in 
May.  I  plant  on  an  average  about  three  and  a  half  grains  in 
a  hill,  and  from  two  and  a  half  to  three  inches  deep.  As  a 
rule,  farmers  do  not  plant  early  enough ;  eaiiy  planted  corn  is 
usually  the  best,  and  some  seasons  one  hundred  per  cent,  bet- 
ter than  the  late.  In  1873,  the  early  part  of  the  planting 
season  was  favorable  up  to  the  eighth  of  May,  then  it  began 
raining,  and  continued  wet  for  three  weeks.  I  planted  my 
corn  before  the  wet  season,  and  all  farmers  who  did  the  same 
raised  good  crops,  while  those  who  planted  after  the  wet  sea- 
son raised  less  than  half  a  crop.  Corn  should  be  harvested  in 
good  season,  and  should  not  be  left  in  the  field  all  Winter, 
because  the  loss  is  generally  more  than  would  pay  for  the  gath- 


COST  OF  RAISING  CORN  599 

ering,  and  if  left  in  the  field  until  Spring  will  interfere  very 
much  with  the  Spring  work  of  putting  in  the  crop. 

Estimate  of  cost  and  net  proceeds  for  raising  ten  acres  of 
corn,  based  upon  the  average  yield  of  the  farm  : 

If  com  is  planted  three  feet  six  inches  by  three  feet  nine 
inches,  the  average  stand  being  three  stalks  in  each  hill,  and 
there  being  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  ears  in  each  bushel, 
the  yield  is  seventy-four  bushels  per  acre  ;  for  one  hundred 
and  forty  ears  per  bushel,  and  three  stalks  per  hill,  sixty-six 
bushels ;  for  one  hundred  and  forty  ears  per  bushel,  two  and 
three-quarter  stalks  per  hill,  sixty  bushels ;  for  one  hundred 
and  forty  ears  per  bushel,  two  and  one-half  stalks  per  hill, 
fifty-five  bushels. 

Rent  foi  ten  acres  of  land,  $20.00 

Plowing  land,       -  -       10.00 

Harrowing  previous  to  planting,  one-half  day,         1.50 
Marking  the  land,  -        1.50 

Seed  corn,  fifty  cents,  planting,  two  dollars,          2.50 
Harrowing  twice  after  planting,    -  3.00 

Cultivating  six  days,  -  18.00 

Husking  and  cribbing  six  hundred  bushels  of 

corn,  18.00 

Cost  of  raising  ten  acres  of  corn,       -        -    $74.50 
A  yield  of  sixty  bushels  per  acre,  600  bushels, 
at  the  present  price  of  ear   corn, 
per  bushel,  22  cents,  -    $182.00 

Fifty-seven  dollars  and  fifty  cents  net  proceeds  for  ten 
acres,  or-  five  dollars  and  seventy-five  cents  per  acre. 

One  hundred  and  twenty-five  large  ears  make  one  bushel 
of  corn,  or  one  hundred  and  forty  medium  sized  ears,  but  in  my 
estimate  I  have  taken  next  to  the  smallest  yield,  sixty  bushels 
per  acre.  Had  I  taken  the  largest,  seventy-four,  the  net  pro- 
ceeds would  be  much  greater,  but  I  consider  sixty  bushels  a 
good  average  crop. 

RYE. 
I  plow  and  prepare  my  land  for  rye  the  same  as  I  do  for 


600  JOHNSON  COUNTY,  NEBRASKA. 

wheat  or  grass,  sowing  about  the  middle  of  August,  one  bushel 
and  a  half  per  acre.  I  sow  early  because  I  want  it  for  Fall  and 
Winter  pasture.  The  latter  pays  for  seed,  labor,  and  use  of 
land,  leaving  the  crop  of  rye,  which  yields  generally  from  ten 
to  twenty  bushels  per  acre,  as  clear  gain.  Rye  makes  good 
feed  either  soaked  or  ground. 

OATS. 

For  oats  I  plow  my  land  early  in  Spring,  sow  in  March, 
about  three  bushels  per  acre,  and  harrow  twice.  I  harvest  and 
handle  oats  in  the  same  manner  as  other  small  grain,  but  if  cut 
with  the  ^header,  I  Jet  it  lie,  in  order  to  cure,  then  rake  with 
sulky  rake,  and  stack  the  same  as  wheat. 

Oats  are  valuable  for  feeding  teams,  but  do  not  pay  as  a 
market  crop.  During  Summer,  teams  can  stand  much  more 
work  fed  on  oats  than  on  corn. 

HOGS. 

I  have  found  the  Poland  Chinas  the  best  breed  of  hogs; 
they  are  adapted  either  to  feed  }"oung  or  to  mature  and  be  made 
into  large  hogs.  I  have  made  them  weigh  on  an  average  over 
three  hundred  pounds  at  one  year  old  ;  and  at  sixteen  months 
old  over  four  hundred  pounds.  They  are  large,  well-propor- 
tioned hogs.  I  think  it  will  pay  every  farmer  raising  hogs  to 
procure  a  pure,  well-bred  Poland  China  male  pig,  with  which 
to  keep  up  his  stock.  The  Poland  China  and  the  Magie  hog 
are  the  same.  This  breed  originated  in  Butler  and  Warren 
counties,  Ohio,  over  thirty  years  ago.  Mr.  A.  C.  Moore  left 
Butler  county,  in  1853  or  1854,  moving  the  breed  of  hogs  with 
him  to  Fulton  county,  Illinois,  where  he  has  had  good  success 
in  breeding  and  distributing  them  throughout  this  western 
country. 

DISEASES   OF   THE   HOG. 

The  disease  called  hog  cholera  is  not  new;  it  was  known 
previous  to  1850,  but  was  not  as  general  as  now,  because  hogs 
had  a  wider  range,  not  being  kept  in  close  pens  as  much  as 
they  now  are.  It  has  been  stated,  but  I  think  erroneously, 


HOG  DISEASES  — CATTLE.  601 

that  the  diseases  known  at  the  present  time  have  been  caused 
by  crossing  the  slim,  long  nosed  hogs  that  we  used  to  have  with 
the  finer  breeds.  When  people  had  those  slim,  long-nosed 
hogs,  they  gave  them  more  liberty  than  we  now  give  ours  J 
they  allowed  the  hogs  to  run  at  large,  to  go  in  the  timber  and 
get  such  roots  as  the  hog's  system  required  to  keep  it  healthy. 
A  farmer  can  keep  a  few  hogs  in  close  confinement,  by  taking- 
good  care  of  them,  giving  them  some  slop,  and  feeding  plenty 
of  salt  and  ashes ;  but  the  more  he  has  the  more  liable  they 
are  to  disease. 

CATTLE. 

I  feed  my  cows  and  calves  corn  all  Winter,  shelling  it  for 
the  calves.  I  feed  my  beef  cattle  at  two,  three,  and  four  years 
old,  taking  them  from  the  prairie  about  the  first  of  October.  I 
feed  snap  corn  with  the  husk,  because  it  requires  less  work  to 
gather,  and  saves  hay.  Farmers  ought  to  continue  improving 
their  cattle,  and  send  fine,  heavy  beeves  to  market.  If  they 
ship  light,  scrubby  beeves,  they  come  in  competition  with 
Texas  cattle,  and  the  profit  on  feeding  is  small.  There  are 
several  fine  herds  of  pure  Short-Horns  owned  in  this  State. 
One  is  owned,  in  our  county,  by  Mr.  M.  V.  Easterday,  of 
Tecumseh. 

I  keep  my  cows  and  calves  all  Summer  in  my  blue  grass- 
pasture.  I  put  my  young  cattle  in  the  herd,  bring  them  home 
about  the  first  of  October,  and  turn  them  into  a  good  blue 
grass  and  timothy  pasture,  where  they  do  well  until  I  get  my 
corn  out;  then  I  keep  them  on  corn-stalks  and  hay,  feeding 
corn  only  in  stormy  weather.  I  let  them  have  access  to  my 
pasture  all  the  time  ;  cattle  are  not  so  liable  to  get  sick  from 
dry  corn  fodder,  if  they  can  get  some  grass  all  the  time. 

HISTORICAL  AND   DESCRIPTIVE. 

Johnson  county,  situated  in  southeastern  Nebraska,  is  the 
second  county  west  of  the  Missouri  river,  and  the  second  north 
of  the  Kansas  line.  The  Great  Nemaha  river  runs  from  north- 
west to  southeast  through  the  county,  and  the  Atchison  and 
Nebraska  railroad  alon^  its  banks.  The  Little  Nemaha  river 


602  JOHNSON  COUNTY,  NEBRASKA. 

runs  parallel  with  the  Great  Nemaha,  about  ten  miles  north  of 
the  same.  These  streams  furnish  water  power  for  mills,  which 
are  located  all  along  the  two,  being  from  four  to  ten  miles 
apart.  Their  numerous  tributaries  thoroughly  drain  the 
country  and  furnish  an  abundance  of  pure  water  for  stock. 
Those  farms  that  have  not  running  water,  can  get  it  in  abund- 
ance by  digging  from  twenty  to  sixty  feet.  I  think  the  wells 
average  about  thirty-five  feet.  This  country  has  good  natural 
advantages,  only  requiring  capital  and  labor  to  fully  develop 
the  same.  Both  the  table  and  bottom  lands  along  the  numer- 
ous streams  are  fertile.  The  land  is  undulating,  but  not  hilly, 
and  so  well  drained  that  there  is  no  stagnant  water  to  poison 
the  atmosphere.  We  have  plenty  of  good  limestone  rock  in 
quarries,  suitable  for  building  and  walling  wells,  and  timber  is 
more  plenty  than  it  was  at  the  beginning  of  settlements.  All 
the  streams  have  more  or  less  timber  along  their  banks,  and 
nearly  every  settler  has  raised  a  grove. 

The  uncultivated  prairies  are  covered  in  Spring  and 
Summer  with  a  fine  coat  of  nutritious  grasses,  that  afford  pas- 
ture for  the  numerous  herds  of  cattle,  sheep  and  horses.  Our 
crops  of  all  kinds,  have  been  good  for  five  years  in  succession. 

Tecumseh,  is  a  town  of  about  one  thousand  inhabitants, 
and  is  a  city  of  considerable  business  importance,  having  five 
churches.  Our  public  school  system  is  good ;  we  have  two 
sections  of  land  set  apart  for  school  purposes  in  every  township, 
and  a  good  school  fund.  Our  climate  is  good,  growing  season 
long,  and  Winter  mild;  we  have  a  few  cold  days,  with  mercury 
down  to  ten  and  sometimes  fifteen  below  zero,  but  such  weather 
does  not  last  long.  On  the  whole,  our  Winters  are  agreeable 
for  man  and  beast,  because  they  are  generally  dry.  Spring 
usually  opens  early ;  we  sow  Spring  wheat  in  February  and 
March,  and  always  plant  corn  by  the  middle  of  April.  Our 
Autumns  are  pleasant,  and  Winters  hardly  ever  set  in  until 
the  middle  of  December.  Number  of  inches  of  rainfall  for  four 
successive  years:  1816,25.95;  1877,34.27;  1878,27.54;  1879, 
28.95. 

This  country,  with  its  favorable  climate,  is  well  adapted  for 


EARLY  FARMING.  603 

all  kinds  of  stock,  especially  for  cattle  and  sheep,  on  account  of 
the  dry  Winters,  plenty  of  feed,  and  pure  water.  There  is 
plenty  of  cheap  land  to  be  bought,  raw  prairie  rates  being-  from 
four  to  ten  dollars,  and  improved  from  six  to  twenty  dollars 
per  acre. 


WM.  STOLLEY, 

GEAND   ISLAND,    HALL   COUNTY. 

Forestry — Orchard  and  Vineyard — Stock — Hedges — Buildings. 

I  opened  up  a  farm  here,  in  1857.  This  county,  at  that 
time,  was  a  perfect  wilderness,  occupied  exclusively  by  Indians, 
buffaloes,  elks,  antelopes  and  wolves.  When  our  colony,  which 
consisted  of  thirty-five  persons,  located  here  (then  sixty-five 
miles  west  of  the  last  white  man's  house),  we  had  to  make  the 
first  wagon  trail  on  the  then  virgin  prairie  in  the  Upper  Platte 
valley  of  Nebraska. 

Having  failed  as  merchant  in  Davenport,  Iowa,  in  1857,  I 
carried  with  me  an  indebtedness  of  about  ten  thousand  dollars, 
which  I  had  to  honestly  liquidate  before  I  could  think  of  im- 
proving my  farm,  as  I  otherwise  could  have  done,  and  these 
adverse  circumstances  are  the  causes  which  kept  me  from 
making  my  place  a  truly  model  farm  before  the  present  time. 

I  own  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land,  of  which  about 
one  hundred  and  five  acres  are  under  good  cultivation.  Eighty 
acres  of  this  cultivated  land  are  usually  sown  and  planted 
with  field  crops,  in  rotation  as  follows :  One-fourth  with  field 
corn,  one-fourth  with  wheat,  one-fourth  with  rye  or  barley, 
and  one-fourth  with  oats  ;  always  manuring  that  part  of  the 
land  planted  with  corn. 

Twenty-five  acres  of  the  cultivated  land  have  been,  in  time, 
planted  by  me  with  forest  trees,  fruit  trees,  grape  vines  and 
small  fruit.  Of  the  fifty-five  acres  remaining  in  natural  meadow- 
land,  twenty  acres  are  enclosed  with  a  good  fence,  and  serve  as 


604  HALL  COUNTY,  NEBRASKA. 

a  pasture  for  the  milch  cows,  of  which  I  keep  about  eight  head 
at  home  during  the  Summer ;  and  two  acres  about  the  house 
are  sown  to  blue  grass,  timothy,  and  red  top  grasses. 

My  crops  average :  corn,  from  thirty-five  to  fifty  bushels 
per  acre ;  wheat,  from  twelve  to  fifteen  bushels  per  acre ;  rye 
and  barley,  from  twenty-five  to  thirty ;  and  oats,  from  forty- 
five  to  sixty  bushels  per  acre. 

FORESTRY. 

The  first  twelve  acres  of  artificial  forest,  were  planted  by 
me  in  the  year  1861,  and  consisted  of  cotton  wood  seedlings, 
one  year  old,  and  black  locust  seedlings,  to  which  were  added 
a  few  hundred  green  ash,  and  black  walnuts,  the  latter  raised 
from  the  nuts — where  they  now  grow. 

The  trees  were  planted  six  by  six  feet,  in  rows,  and  re- 
ceived a  clean  but  shallow  cultivation  for  three  years.  The 
cottonwood  trees  yet  left  growing  of  the  original  and  first 
plantation,  are  now  from  sixty-five  to  seventy-five  feet  high, 
and  some  of  them  measure  over  two  feet  in  diameter,  but  nine- 
tenths  of  them  have  been  felled  by  storms  and  worms  (borers), 
and  I  had  to  sell  them,  in  the  shape  of  cordwood,  at  from  five 
to  six  dollars  per  cord.  But  an  excellent  growth  of  hard  wood 
trees  is  springing  up  between  the  pioneer  trees  yet  left  grow- 
ing. The  hard  wood  trees,  mixed  with  some  soft  wood,  I  have 
planted  from  time  to  time,  consisting  of  black  walnuts,  white 
and  green  ash,  box  elder,  red  cedar,  white  elm,  soft  maple, 
butternut,  mixed  with  an  undergrowth  of  black  currants,  wild 
grape,  dogwood,  and  other  brush  trees. 

The  original  black  locust  grove  was  totally  destroyed  by 
the  borer  in  the  years  of  187G,  '77  and  '78,  but  the  dead  trees 
furnished  fence  posts  and  the  best  of  fuel.  A  new  growth  of 
the  same  timber,  now  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet  high,  has  sprouted 
from  the  roots,  and  is  intermixed  with  same  kind  of  hard  wood 
and  other  trees  as  before  enumerated. 

The  remaining  ten  or  twelve  acres  of  artificial  and  orna- 
mental groves  consist  of  the  same  hard  wood  varieties,  with  an 
addition  in  variety,  of  honey  locust,  Kentucky  coffee  bean, 


ORCHARD  AND  VINEYARD.  605 

catalpa,  soft  maples,  American  larch,  Scotch  pine,  yellow  pino 
(from  the  Rocky  mountains),  Norway  spruce,  arbor  vitse,  Rocky 
mountain  silver  spruce,  and  a  fe^y  other  kinds.  In  all  about 
one  thousand  evergreens  in  thrifty  condition. 

ORCHARD   AND   VINEYARD. 

My  orchard  contains  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  fruit 
trees,  of  which  the  apple  trees  are  planted  thirty  feet  apart, 
intermixed  at  a  distance  of  fifteen  feet  apart,  with  different 
varieties  of  crab  apple,  plum,  cherry,  and  peach  trees. 

Grasshoppers  destroyed  my  seven-acre  orchard  (mostly 
apple  trees),  in  the  ye&v  1874 ;  since  that  time  I  have  reduced 
my  orchard  to  the  number  stated,  and  have  replanted  only  with 
such  varieties  as  proved  capable  of  withstanding  the  ravages 
of  this  pest. 

My  little  vineyard  now  contains  about  eight  hundred  grape 
vines,  principally  Concord ;  the  remainder  being  thirty-five 
Clinton,  thirty-five  Ives,  thirty  Hartford,  twenty-five  Catawba, 
and  thirty  Elvira  vines.  They  are  trained  to  wire  trellises 
six  and  one-half  feet  high,  of  five  wires.  I  have  besides, 
twenty-eight  choice  varieties,  in  single  vines,  on  trial,  for  the 
purpose  of  experimenting  and  testing  them  as  to  hardiness  and 
adaptability  for  this  part  of  the  country. 

My  mode  of  cultivation,  for  orchard  as  well  as  for  grapery, 
is  :  shallow  plowing  in  early  Spring,  and  a  second  shallow  re- 
plowing  in  the  latter  part  of  June — after  which  all  cultivation 
ceases.  In  November,  I  trim  my  grape  vines  (renewal  system), 
and  cover  with  old  prairie  hay  as  Winter  protection. 

SMALL   FRUITS. 

I  have  the  red  and  white  Dutch  and  cherry  currants,  and 
the  black  Naples,  in  a  row,  planted  four  feet  apart.  The  goose- 
berries, of  which  I  have  the  American  Houghton  and  Mountain 
Seedling,  Smith's  improved,  and  Downing's  white,  are  planted 
the  same  way  and  receive  a  similar  cultivation  to  the  orchard 
and  vineyard.  Of  blackberries,  I  cultivate,  for  home  use,  the 
Snytler  and  Lawton,  and  of  raspberries  I  have  the  Gregg', 
Turner,  and  Philadelphia  now  on  trial,  and  a  native  Black  Cap 


60G  HALL  COUNTY,  NEBRASKA. 

of  good  quality  I  have  fruited  for  years.  Strawberries  grow 
in  large  patches  in  half  shaded  situations  of  my  grove. 

My  fruit  trees,  planted  in  the  year  1863,  first  bore  the 
Early  Richmond  cherry,  in  1867  ;  the  first  peach  in  1871,  and 
the  first  apples  and  pears  in  1872 ;  since  that  time  the  trees 
gradually  bear  more  and  more.  I  have  gathered  seven  bushels 
of  crab  apples  from  a  single  tree  in  one  year.  I  aim  to  sub- 
ject all  my  fruit  trees  at  least  once  annually  (in  May),  to  a 
thorough  wash  with  soft  soap,  from  the  lower  limbs  down  to 
about  three  inches  below  the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  look 
carefully  after  the  little  twig  borer  and  other  injurious  insects. 
In  September  I  protect  my  young  trees  against  rabbits  and 
hares,  by  either  applying  a  wash  of  blood  to  the  tree-trunks  as 
high  up  as  these  animals  can  reach,  or  wrapping  with  tar 
paper.  My  old  bearing  trees  and  vines  I  manure  with  well 
decomposed  stable  manure  and  wood  ashes  (top  dressing)  dur- 
ing late  Autumn  or  Winter.  Many  varieties  of  forest  trees 
as  well  as  fruit  trees,  will  not  endure  the  ravages  of  grasshop- 
pers, when  this  pest  happens  to  make  a  prolonged  stay  with  us 
in  the  month  of  August ;  but  the  forest  trees  enumerated  in 
the  foregoing  have  proved  either  entirely  iron  clad,  or  to  be 
the  least  affected. 

In  Spring  and  Autumn,  I  sell  forest  and  ornamental  trees 
out  of  my  plantation,  in  sizes  to  suit  customers,  as  also  fruit 
trees  and  other  nursery  stock  of  the  kind,  which  so  far 
have  proved  best  adapted  to  this  country,  and  soon  I  hope  to 
be  able  to  supply  the  home  market  with  considerable  fruit. 

STOCK. 

I  keep  but  four  horses, — for  farm  and  orchard  work  exclu- 
sively. 

I  have  seventy-two  head  of  a  good  grade  of  common 
American  cattle.  I  aim  to  increase  my  herd  in  numbers  as 
much  as  possible,  and  have  had  for  some  years  a  nearly  full- 
blooded  Short-Horn  bull  running  with  them.  I  sell  annually 
all  oxen  that  have  reached  the  age  of  three  years,  and  occa- 
sionally, when  special  opportunities  are  offered,  I  sell  good 


PLAN  OF  FARM  AND  BUILDINGS. 


607 


JToney  ~Loeu»l  "Hedge 


County  Road 


£08  HALL  COUNTY,  NEBRASKA. 

milch  cows.  My  stock  is  herded  from  the  first  of  May  until 
the  first  of  November,  at  an  expense  of  one  dollar  per  head, 
when  they  are  taken  home  to  the  farm  and  are  allowed  during 
the  day  to  run  at  large  in  the  cornfields  and  to  straw-stacks. 
During  nights  they  are  corraled,  and  are  either  left  in  a  large 
straw-yard  or  are  taken  into  the  shed-yard,  which  is  supplied 
with  a  good  substantial  shed  one  hundred  feet  in  length  and 
twenty  feet  wide,  and  a  manger  fifty  feet  long,  with  a  capacity 
of  two  tons  of  hay.  Here  they  get  all  the  hay  they  will  eat  at 
night,  and  are  prevented  from  trampling  the  hay  under  foot. 
I  feed  on  an  average  r.bout  one  ton  of  hay  per  head  during 
the  Winter  months,  and  in  addition,  corn  or  ground  food  to 
steers  intended  for  market,  as  also  to  the  milch  cows. 

I  keep  enough  hogs  for  home  supply,  and  only  a  few  to 
spare, —  about  ten  or  twelve. 

HEDGES. 

Formerly  my  plantations  were  surrounded  partly  by  a 
board  or  rail  fence,  the  place  of  which,  to  a  great  extent,  is 
now  taken  by  live  hedges  of  white  or  gray  willow,  that  not 
only  afford  protection  against  trespassing  stock,  but  also  serve 
as  windbreaks,  and  furnish  every  five  years  an  abundance  of 
fuel  and  fencing  material.  I  am  now  at  work  to  inclose  my 
entire  farm  with  live  hedges,  and  the  greater  part  of  this  labor 
is  already  accomplished. 

BUILDINGS. 

As  to  my  buildings,  they  are  either  built  of  cotton  wood 
logs  and  framed  over  with  boards,  or  they  are  ordinary  frames. 
They  consist  of  (see  plan)  : 

a — Dwelling  house,  one  and  onc-lialf  stories  high,  sixteen  by  twenty  fect( 
with  a  room  attached  often  by  thirteen  feet,  built  of  logs  and  frauiuJ  over, 

b — Barn,  combining  granary,  horse-stable,  and  machine  and  buggy -shed, 
twenty  by  sixty  feet,  and  built  out  of  extra  heavy  cottonwood  logs  (fivrmcrly 
serving  as  a  fortification  against  the  attacks  of  host"; e  Indians),  framed  over 
with  boards,  the  loft  affording  room  for  seven  tons  of  hay. 

c — Work-shop,  a  log  building,  fourteen  by  eighteen  feet,  with  a  cirrvn- 
tcr's  workbench  and  tools,  serving  also  as  a  place  to  store  agricultural  imple- 
ments. 


BUILDINGS.  009 

d— Cellar,  twelve  by  twenty  feet,  constructed  entirely  out  of  cedar  posts 
(walls  as  well  as  roof),  and  covered  with  three  feet  of  earth. 

e — Cattle  shed  and  stable  combined,  one  hundred  and  forty-two  by  twenty 
feet,  built  of  heavy  cedar  posts  and  cottonwood  logs. 

f— Smoke  house,  eight  by  eight  feet,  and  nine  feet  high  (frame). 

g — Corn-crib  of  one  thousand  bushels  capacity,  combined  with  a  shed 
for  ihe  housing  of  the  threshing  machine,  sulky  plow,  horse  cultivator,  har- 
rows, and  other  implements. 

h — Hog-pen  and  sheds  in  rear  of  cattle  yard,  and  in  the  shade  of  forest 
trees. 

The  house  is  supplied  with  a  good  drive-pump  in  the 
kitchen,  and  a  good  wooden  pump  is  near  the  cattle  yard, 
furnishing  all  the  water  needed  for  stock  and  horses. 

Requisite  outbuildings,  and  three  large  grapevine  arbors 
in  different  parts  of  my  plantation,  complete  the  description. 


M.  B.  STONE, 

SYRACUSE,   OTOE  COUNTY. 
Corn  —  Grain  —  Herding  —  Cattle  —  Sheep  —  Fruit  —  Climate. 

My  knowledge  of  Nebraska  covers  more  especially  the 
southeast  portion  of  the  State,  and  has  been  gained  by  a  resi- 
dence here  of  some  fifteen  years.  The  several  counties  with 
which  I  am  acquainted  (Cass,  Lancaster,  Johnson,  and  my  own 
county,  Otoe),  are  remarkably  Avell  adapted  to  the  various 
branches  of  husbandry.  The  land  is  very  uniform  in  character, 
so  much  so  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  quarter  section 
that  would  not  make  a  good  farm.  The  surface  is  high,  rolling 
prairie,  well  watered  by  streams,  along  which  are  groves  of 
native  timber,  elm,  ash,  oak,  walnut  and  cottonwood  being  the 
most  common.  The  soil  is  a  rich  vegetable  mold,  on  the  high 
lands,  from  one  to  three  feet  in  depth, and  on  the  bottomlands, 
along  the  streams,  reaching  the  depth  of  eight  to  ten  feet. 
The  subsoil  is  of  such  a  nature  that  it  absorbs  the  moisture  and 
holds  it  in  reserve  for  growing  vegetation,  too  far  from  the  sur- 

39 


610  OTOE  COUNTY,  NEBRASKA. 

face  to  be  lost  by  evaporation,  and  yet  near  enough  to  be  ap- 
propriated. Thus  we  are  enabled  to  endure  a  long  season  of 
drouth,  with  but  slight  injury  to  crops. 

CORN. 

In  the  Summer  of  18G4,  we  had  but  one  rain  after  corn 
planting  that  amounted  to  more  than  a  heavy  dew.  It  came 
on  the  fourth  of  July,  and  soaked  the  ground  completely. 
This  rain  made  the  corn  crop.  Fields  well  tilled  yielded  thirty- 
five  to  forty  bushels  per  acre.  In  more  favorable  seasons  we 
get  fifty  to  sixty  bushels  on  upland,  and  seventy  to  eighty  on 
the  best  bottom  lands. 

Corn  is  regarded  as  our  most  profitable  crop.  Deep  plow- 
ing, early  planting,  and  thorough  cultivation,  here,  as  else- 
where, secure  the  best  results.  The  first  crop  of  weeds  is  de- 
stroyed with  the  harrow,  and  the  ground  pulverizing  readily 
under  this  kind  of  cultivation,  much  time  is  saved  by  the  use 
of  the  implement  immediately  after  planting.  One  team  and 
hand  will  do  the  raising  and  cribbing  of  sixty  to  seventy  acres. 

GRAIN. 

Spring  wheat,  oats,  barley  and  rye  are  raised  to  a  con- 
siderable extent,  and  recent  experiments  indicate  that  in  this 
region  Winter  wheat  may  also  be  cultivated  with  profit.  The 
harvesting  of  small  grain  is  mostly  done  with  heading  machines, 
saving  much  of  the  hard  work  and  expense  of  former  methods. 

HERDING. 

One  peculiar  advantage  which  the  farming  interest  has 
here  is  derived  from  the  herd  and  stock  law.  In  other  new 
countries  a  vast  amount  of  capital  is  employed  in  fencing. 
Here,  where  stock  is  collected  in  herds,  and  guarded  at  small 
expense,  this  capital  finds  more  profitable  investment  in  cattle, 
sheep  and  hogs.  There  has  been  very  little  damage  done  to 
crops,  under  the  herding  system,  and  farming  without  fences, 
in  a  new  country,  may  be  pronounced  a  great  economy,  and  a 
complete  success.  But  as  the  country  grows  older,  and  the 


CATTLE  —  SHEEP.  61  ] 

herding  range  is  needed  for  cultivation,  pasture  lots  will  be 
required.  Hedge  fences  are  easily  grown  (the  Osage  is  best), 
and  the  farmer  can  well  afford  to  take  time  to  fence  his  fields 
in  this  way,  accomplishing  it  with  small  expense. 

CATTLE. 

Cattle  raising  is  now  an  important  branch  of  husbandry 
here.  The  cost  of  herding  in  Summer  does  not  exceed  twenty- 
cents  a  month  per  head,  and  in  Winter  they  live  well  on 
prairie  hay,  which  costs  one  to  two  dollars  per  ton,  with  a 
small  amount  of  corn.  Straw  piles  and  stalk  fields  are  also 
turned  to  good  account  in  the  Winter  feeding.  In  addition  to 
the  stock  raised  here,,  thousands  of  animals  are  brought  in  each 
year  from  the  South  to  fatten  on  our  surplus  of  corn  and  fod- 
der. The  hogs  following  these  cattle  make  cheap  pork  for  the 
million. 

SHEEP. 

I  believe  there  is  no  domestic  animal  that  finds  a  more- 
congenial  home  here  than  the  sheep,  and  none  that  yields  so- 
great  a  profit  to  the  farmer.  The  expense  of  keeping  in  Sum- 
mer—  pasturage  costing  nothing,  excepting  the  expense  of  a. 
herder  —  is,  of  course,  much  less  than  in  the  older  settled. 
States.  The  loss  from  disease  is  very  slight.  Six  years  ago  a. 
neighbor  bought  a  flock  of  one  hundred  ewes,  at  two  dollars 
per  head,  and  the  following  Summer  sold  from  them  two  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  dollars'  worth  of  wool,  and  raised  one 
hundred  and  five  lambs.  He  has  thinned  out  his  flock  from 
time  to  time,  by  selling  off  some  old  or  fat  ones,  and  now  has 
nine  hundred,  worth  three  dollars  per  head.  Another  Nebraska 
farmer  commenced  four  years  ago  with  a  flock  of  one  hundred 
inferior  grades.  Each  Fall  he  has  sold  a  sufficient  number  of 
fat  muttons  to  meet  all  the  cash  expenses  he  incurred  during 
the  entire  year.  His  sheep  have  averaged  eight  pounds  of 
wool  at  a  shearing.  They  have  been  herded  on  land  belong- 
ing to  speculators,  or  railroad  companies.  His  herder  has  cost 
him  fifteen  dollars  per  month  and  board.  He  has  always  been 


612  OTOE  COUNTY,  NEBRASKA. 

able  to  purchase  hay  in  the  stack  at  one  dollar  and  a  quarter 
per  ton,  and  corn  at  fifteen  cents  per  bushel.  He  has  allowed 
each  sheep  to  eat  one  and  a  half  bushels  of  corn  during  the 
Winter.  He  has  lost  few  sheep  by  disease,  and  none  have 
been  killed  by  dogs  or  wild  animals.  Last  month  he  sold  his 
entire  flock,  numbering  five  hundred  head,  at  an  average  of 
two  dollars  and  a  quarter  per  head.  His  object  in  disposing  of 
them  was  to  procure  money  to  purchase  high  grade  Merinos, 
that  will  shear  ten  pounds  per  head.  He  finds  sheep  profita- 
ble in  proportion  to  the  number  of  pounds  of  wool  they  pro- 
duce. 

FRUIT. 

Another  very  profitable  branch  of  husbandry  here  is  fruit 
growing.  All  kinds  adapted  to  this  latitude  do  well.  Our 
market  promises  to  be  good  for  a  long  time  to  come.  The 
immigration  will,  for  many  years,  take  all  we  can  spare ;  and 
the  great  mountain  region,  with  its  growing  mining  and  manu- 
facturing interests,  will  be  ready  to  pass  in  their  baskets  as 
soon  as  we  have  a  surplus  for  shipping.  The  .character  of  our 
soil  and  climate  seems  especially  well  suited  to  grape  culture. 
An  acre  of  vineyard  in  the  neighborhood  has  yielded  an  aver- 
age of  one  hundred  dollars  a  year  profit  to  the  owner.  It  is  of 
the  Concord  variety.  The  vines  are  trained  to  stakes,  and 
have  never  received  any  covering  or  protection  in  Winter. 
The  fruit  has  been  sold  at  an  average  of  about  four  and  a  half 
cents  per  pound.  On  the  same  farm  is  an  orchard,  which  has 
been  in  successful  bearing  for  the  past  eight  years.  The  four- 
teenth year  after  setting,  one  Winesap  tree  yielded  fourteen 
bushels,  and  six  Rawle's  Jannet  trees  yielded  sixty-six  bushels. 
This  orchard  was  cultivated  for  the  first  six  years,  and  then 
seeded  down  with  timothy.  A  mulching  of  straw  was  also 
.spread  about  the  trees  to  the  extent  of  the  limbs. 

Dr.  John  A.  Warder,  of  pomological  fame,  in  1878, 
attended  the  Otoe  County  Fair,  and  also  the  State  Fair  at  Lin- 
coln. After  examining  the  fruits  on  exhibition,  and  visiting 
many  of  the  orchards  of  this  part  of  the  State,  he  is  reported 
to  have  pronounced  the  fruits  remarkably  fine,  and  of  greater 


PEACHES  —  CLIMATE.  613 

size  and  beauty  than  the  same  varieties  in  the  older  fruit  sec- 
tions. 

PEACHES. 

Nine  years  ago  I  planted  an  acre  of  ground  with  peach 
trees  of  one  year's  growth.  The  ground  was  prepared  as  for 
corn,  and  marked  out  with  a  four-foot  marker.  In  every 
alternate  cross  each  way,  a  tree  was  set,  in  all  about  seven 
hundred  trees  being  planted.  They  received  the  same  culti- 
vation as  the  adjoining  cornfield  until  the  third  year,  when 
they  shaded  the  ground  and  kept  down  the  weeds.  The  fourth 
year  they  bore  a  light  crop.  The  fifth  year  about  three  hun- 
dred bushels  were  gathered,  and  sold  at  one  dollar  and  a 
quarter  to  two  dollars  per  bushel.  Perhaps  I  have  said  enough 
of  fruit  growing  here  to  show  that  where  proper  attention  is 
given,  the  best  results  are  secured. 

CLIMATE. 

I  must  allude  to  our  climate,  or  I  shall  not  do  justice  to 
Nebraska  as  a  farming  country.  To  the  farmer,  who,  as  you 
may  say,  lives  out  of  doors,  it  is  important  that  he  have  as 
much  sunshine  and  fair  weather  as  is  consistent  with  the 
growth  of  his  crops.  Comparing  our  climate  with  that  of  the 
States  east  of  the  Mississippi  river,  we  have  more  sunshine, 
less  foggy,  murky,  sulky  weather,  cooler  nights  through  the 
Summer  season,  more  high  winds,  a  less  amount  of  snow  (hav- 
ing very  little  use  for  sleds),  and  a  clear,  pure,  invigorating 
atmosphere,  comparatively  exempt  from  malarial  influences.  I 
know  of  no  healthier  climate,  or  one  more  enjoyable. 


614 


DODGE  COUNTY,  NEBRASKA. 


EVEKETT,     DODGE     COUNTY. 

Mode  of  Corn  Growing —  Wheat — Potatoes — Hogs. 

My  farm  consists  of  eighty  acres  table-land  ;  sixty  acres 
are  under  cultivation  for  field  crops,  four  acres  in  orchard  and 
small  fruit,  eight  acres  in  grove,  and  eight  acres  prairie  grass. 
(See  diagram.) 


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M  t  H  1 1 1 1 1 1 


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CP 


DIAGRAM   OF  FARM. 

C — Cultivated  land,  h — Hedge  to  protect  fruit  trees.  O — Orchard.  H — 
House.  F — Small  fruit.  G — Grove.  B — Barn,  corn  crib  and  stable,  with 
yard  in  front.  C  P — Calf  pasture.  P — Pasture  land. 

Corn  and  wheat  are  the  crops  mainly  grown,  with  a  small 
amount  of  oats.  In  order  to  keep  the  soil  in  good  condition 
and  free  from  weeds,  I  find  it  necessary  to  have  two  crops  of 


MODE  OF  CORN- GROWING.  615 

corn  to  one  of  small  grain,  which  gives  me  about  forty  acres 
corn  and  twenty  of  wheat,  oats,  and  root  crops  each  year. 

MODE  OF    CORN-GROWING. 

T  have  as  much  of  my  corn  ground  plowed  in  the  Fall  as 
possible.  I  mark  and  plant  about  the  first  of  May,  without 
harrowing  or  interfering  with  the  Fall  plowing  until  planted. 
I  follow  the  marks  of  the  horse  planter  with  a  two-horse  corn 
plow,  and  throw  the  soil  as  heavily  as  possible  on  the  marks  of 
the  planter,  then  harrow  crosswise  before  the  corn  has  time  to 
be  up.  This  mode  of  working  Fall  plowing  completely  destroys 
all  weeds  that  have  started  in  the  Spring,  while  the  frost  of 
the  Winter  has  destroyed  the  crop  of  weeds  started  after  plow- 
ing the  previous  Fall.  I  prefer  this  method  to  Spring  plowing, 
for  the  ground  being  somewhat  settled,  though  mellow  enough 
for  the  roots  of  the  corn  to  penetrate,  retains  the  moisture  bet- 
ter and  is  less  lumpy,  thereby  forming  a  nicer  seed  bed  for  the 
grain.  Corn  planted  on  land  treated  as  above  stated,  I  find  to 
mature  about  a  week  sooner  than  on  Spring  plowing.  On 
Spring  plowing  I  harrow,  mark,  plant,  and  harrow  again  before 
the  corn  is  up.  All  corn  should  be  cultivated  four  times  at 
least,  to  secure  a  good  crop,  and  to  leave  the  ground  in  condi- 
tion for  small  grain  the  following  season.  Average  of  corn 
crop  this  year,  sixty  bushels  per  acre.  Cost  of  producing  the 
crop : 

Plowing,  per  acre,       -  -        $1.25 

Marking,  planting,  and  harvesting,  per  acre,  -         .30 
Cultivating  four  times,  per  acre,  1.25 

Husking  and  cribbing,  per  acre,      -  -       1.50 

Total  expenses,  per  acre,      -  $4.30 

Making  the  actual  expense  of  producing  a  bushel  of  corn  only 
seven  and  one-sixth  cents,  leaving  the  farmer,  at  present  price 
here,  a  clear  gain  of  seven  dollars  and  seventy  cents  per  acre, 
after  being  paid  for  his  labor. 

WHEAT. 

Fall  wheat  I  sow  in  corn,  cultivate  with  double-shovel  one 


616  DODGE  COUNTY,  NEBRASKA. 

way,  twice  between  rows  of  corn,  and  harrow  crosswise  with 
,a  single  horse  attached  to  a  single  section  of  an  iron  harrow. 
This  does  good  work.     For  Spring  wheat,  I  remove  the  corn- 
stalks, mostly  by  breaking  with  railroad  iron,  then  raking  them, 
into  rows  and  burning  them.     I  sow  about  one  and  a  half  to- 
two  bushels  to  the  acre,  cultivate,  and  harrow  thoroughly.  My 
yield  of  Spring  wheat  is  about  fifteen  bushels  per  acre. 
Cost  of  producing  wheat  crop,  per  acre : 
Seed,  one  and  three-quarter  bushels,  at  one 

dollar,     -  -    $1.75 

Sowing,  cultivating,  and  harrowing,    -  .75 

Harvesting  and  stacking,  including  board,       -       2.00 
Threshing,  four  cents  per  bushel,         -        -  .60 

Total  expense,  per  acre,  -  -  $5.10 

Making  the  actual  expense  of  producing  a  bushel  of  wheat 
here  only  thirty-four  cents,  and  leaving  the  farmer  a  profit  of 
eight  dollars  per  acre,  at  the  present  price  of  wheat. 

My  mode  of  growing  oats  is  similar  to  the  one  described 
for  wheat,  and  my  yield  has  been  forty-six  bushels  per  acre, 
which  gives  a  handsome  profit  at  the  present  price  —  twenty- 
five  cents  per  bushel. 

POTATOES. 

I  plow  deeply  about  the  fifteenth  of  May,  harrow  the 
ground  well,  and  lay  out  in  drills,  tolerably  deep,  and  wide 
enough  apart  to  be  cultivated  with  a  two-horse  corn  plow.  I 
drop  the  sets  about  ten  inches  apart,  and  cover  with  the  two- 
horse  cultivator,  having  the  shovels  well  set  in  to  throw  the 
dirt  heavily  on  the  furrow.  This  covers  the  seeds  with  loose 
earth  without  displacing  or  tramping  them  in  the  furrow,  aa 
when  covered  by  a  single  horse.  My  yield  has  been  about 
two  hundred  bushels  per  acre,  mostly  Peachblows.  I  find  no- 
trouble  with  potato  bugs,  and  have  not  needed  to  use  any 
preventives,  or  to  hand-pick  since  coming  here,  an  experience 
of  seven  years.  These  pests  will  be  found  wherever  the 
potatoes  are  planted  early.  But  potatoes  planted  here  after 
the  twentieth  of  May,  in  quantity  not  less  than  an  acre,  and 


FRUITS  — HOGS.  617 

not  too  near  town  where  there  are  abundant  patches  of  early 
planting,  will  not  be  troubled  with  potato  bugs. 

My  grove  of  eight  acres  is  now  eight  years  planted,  and  is 
still  improving,  though  for  the  past  two  years  we  have  used  no 
other  fuel.  It  is  composed  of  cottonwood,  maple,  and  box 
elder. 

Fruits  of  the  usual  varieties  do  well  here,  such  as  apples, 
peaches,  cherries,  grapes,  gooseberries,  currants,  blackberries, 
raspberries,  etc.  All  these  bear  we]l,  and  mildew  on  goose- 
berries is  unknown. 

HOGS. 

I  have  found  hog  breeding  quite  profitable  after  the  follow- 
ing method.  I  take  only  hogs  of  good  stock.  Those  bred 
from  Poland  China  sows  crossed  with  a  Berkshire  boar,  I  prefer 
for  quick  growth  and  early  maturing.  They  feed  well,  keep 
fat  from  their  youth,  and  are  ready  for  market  at  ten  months, 
at  a  weight  of  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred 
pounds.  I  prefer  feeding  boiled  feed.  It  costs  too  much  to 
grind,  but  boiling  can  be  done  at  a  nominal  cost.  For  a  boiler 
I  make  sides  of  plank  two  and  one-half  feet  deep,  ends  from 
top  downwards  two  feet  deep,  round  the  corners  of  the  sides 
up  to  these  ends,  and  nail  on  sheet  iron  bottom,  letting  the  iron 
extend  well  up  the  ends.  The  bottom  requires  to  be  well 
nailed  on,  and  the  box  or  frame  well  matched,  so  as  not  to 
leak.  A  box  of  that  shape  and  three  feet  wide,  will  boil  twelve 
bushels,  and  this  set  on  brick,  with  a  chimney  about  three  feet 
high,  will  work  well.  I  use  straw  for  fuel,  and  have  a  sheet 
iron  feeder,  fitting  the  front  of  the  furnace,  to  shove  the  straw 
through.  A  few  armsful  of  straw  will  boil  my  feed  in  thirty 
minutes,  when  it  is  left  to  soak  for  one  day  thereafter.  I  find 
that  in  using  boiled  feed  for  hogs,  I  can  produce  a  pound  of 
pork  for  every  five  pounds  of  corn.  The  month  previous  to 
selling,  I  gradually  change  to  hard  corn,  to  harden  the  hogs 
for  shipping,  and  prevent  shrinkage.  In  these  days  of  hog- 
disease,  it  is  necessary  to  use  a  preventive,  as  well  as  a  tonic, 
especially  when  our  hogs  are  confined  almost  their  entire  life, 
and  fed  on  grain.  .1  use  the  following,  and  give  it  for  what  it 


(518  MERRICK  COUNTY,  NEBRASKA. 

is  worth.  I  put  half  a  bushel  of  unslacked  lime  in  a  barrel, 
having  ready  half  a  bushel  of  salt,  in  which  are  mixed  four 
pounds  of  sulphur  and  half  a  bushel  of  pulverized  charcoal.  I 
wet  the  lime  sufficiently  to  slack  it,  and  as  soon  as  it  begins  to 
steam,  spread  over  it  the  salt  and  sulphur,  over  the  top  of  that 
the  charcoal,  and  then  cover  the  barrel  with  a  heavy  cloth. 
When  the  lime  has  slacked  and  partly  cooled,  I  stir  all  thor- 
oughly together.  This  I  find  to  be  both  an  excellent  tonic  and 
disinfectant.  Dose,  about  one  tablespoonful  to  the  hog  two  or 
three  times  a  week. 

I  find  the  important  points,  to  secure  success  in  farming, 
are  thorough  cultivation,  good  seed,  and  the  best  stock.  To 
keep  the  land  rich  and  the  stock  well  fed  (with  economy),  will 
almost  invariably  insure  success. 

To  those  desiring  a  farm  home  I  would  say,  we  have  a 
beautiful  climate,  a  mild  Winter,  with  very  little  snow,  suffi- 
cient rain  in  Summer  to  produce  good  crops,  a  rich  soil  overlying 
a  porous  subsoil,  good  water,  and  an  abundance  of  grass,  unsur- 
passed probably  by  any  other  State.  The  tame  grasses  and 
clover  grow  very  well  here. 


N.  R.  PERSINGER, 

CENTRAL  CITY,    MERRICK    COUNTY. 

A  Stock  and  Fruit  Farm —  Cattle  —  Buildings — Model  Hacks 
—  Feeding  —  Profits. 

My  farm  consists  of  five  hundred  and  forty  acres,  lying  in 
sections  six  and  seven,  township  fourteen,  north  range  six, 
west,  Merrick  county,  Nebraska.  July  21,  1871,  I  filed  a  sol- 
dier's homestead  on  the  south  half  of  the  northwest  quarter, 
and  north  half  of  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  six,  and 
that  Fall  built  me  a  sod  house,  with  board  roof.  The  next 
Summer  I  had  sod  broken,  some  twenty-five  acres,  and  in  1873 
planted  about  one  acre  of  forest  trees.  I  did  not  improve  my 


NORTH. 


Lane. 


Lane. 


Lane. 


PASTURE. 
BLUE  GRASS. 

\ 

PASTURE. 
CLOVER. 

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•-'t  ttttttttf. 

vt  ttttttttf. 
•••  t  t  Orclianl.  t  t  '. 
vt  ttttttttt-. 

PASTURE. 
CLOVER. 

:::."•'  n  onid-v-- 

.++++++++•:       u  n  1  n 

.-Orchard.'.               U  1  [ 

.-++**+*•     n    i 

/ 

PAST 
CLOVER  AND 

\ 

URE. 
BLUE  GRASS. 

'ii'  a  Tenant 
'•_  n      House. 

CORN  AND  WHEAT 

OATS  AND 
MILLET. 

/  \ 
TIMOTHY. 

TIMOTHY. 

TIMOTHY. 

i  /                                  \  < 

TIMOTHY. 

/  %••  ;•                                        /  \ 

t  CD  Tenant 
/.  a     House. 

CORN  AND  WHEAT 

OATS  AND 
MILLET. 

G19 


620  MERRICK  COUNTY,  NEBRASKA. 

farm  otherwise  than  cultivate  and  plant  trees,  until  1877  ;  that 
year  I  purchased  from  my  brother  the  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres  lying  south  of  me.  This  gave  a  half  section  of  land, 
with  ninety  acres  under  cultivation,  and  seven  acres  of  timber 
planted.  In  the  Fall  of  1877,  I  built  me  a  plain  farm  house, 
sixteen  by  twenty-six  feet,  one  and  a  half  stories  high,  the  only 
house  on  the  farm  prior  to  that  time  being  a  small  board  house 
twelve  by  sixteen  feet.  In  the  Spring  of  1878,  I  began  to 
plan  my  farm  for  a  stock  farm ;  also  planned  to  plant  three 
orchards.  My  object  in  having  three  orchards  was  to  have 
different  exposures,  one  southern,  one  northern,  and  one  to  be 
entirely  surrounded  by  forest  trees,  as  shown  on  the  ground 
plan  herewith,  hoping  thus  to  have  fruit  every  year.  So  far,  I 
have  planted  only  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  trees,  taking 
care  to  select  only  such  fruits  as  have  been  found  adapted  to 
this  climate.  I  have  arranged  my  orchards  to  contain  about 
three  hundred  trees  each. 

CATTLE. 

In  the  Fall  of  1878,  I  bought  the  south  half  of  the  north- 
west quarter  and  the  southwest  quarter  of  section  8,  making 
up  my  five  hundred  and  forty  acres.  In  my  arrangements  for 
a  stock  farm  I  have  but  made  a  start.  I  have  purchased  and 
placed  upon  the  farm  eighty-five  head  of  cattle,  the  most  of 
them  graded  from  one-half  to  three-fourths  Short-Horn ;  and 
from  the  John  Wentworth  herd  at  Summit  farm,  Chicago,  I 
obtained  a  thorough-bred  Short-Horn  bull,  to  run  with  the 
herd,  it  being  my  intention  to  buy  another  the  coming  Spring. 

I  prefer  the  Short-Horn  Durham  stock,  believing,  as  I  do, 
that  for  general  purposes  this  is  the  best  stock,  producing  more 
and  quicker  returns  than  any  other.  It  is  my  intention  to  run 
my  stock  into  full  blood  Short-Horns  as  quickly  as  possible. 
My  first  work  for  the  cattle  was  to  build  a  corral,  and  then 
fence  in  a  pasture  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres,  with  barbed 
wire. 

BUILDINGS. 

My  next  work,  during  the  Summer   and  Fall  of  1879, 


BUILDINGS.  621 

was  to  build  a  barn,  twenty-four  feet  by  thirty-two  feet,  with 
twelve  feet  posts,  for  my  horses  and  bulls  and  milch  cows.  For 
the  protection  of  my  other  cattle,  I  built  a  shed,  twenty-eight 
feet  wide  and  ninety-six  feet  long,  boarded  with  common  boards 
and  covered  with  shingles,  and  divided  into  ttvo  parts,  with 
yards  to  each  part;  one,  twenty-eight  by  forty  feet  for  my 
calves,  the  other,  twenty-eight  by  fifty-six  feet  for  grown  cattle. 
In  the  line  of  fence  dividing  the  two  cattle  yards,  I  have  put 
up  a  Halliday  windmill  pump,  with  a  trough  sixteen  feet  long, 
in  each  yard,  and  so  arranged  that  I  can  keep  the  troughs 
always  full  of  clear,  pure,  fresh  water.  I  believe  that  if  I  had 
a  stream  of  water  running  through  my  farm,  I  should  keep  my 
cattle  away  from  it,  and  use  a  windmill  pump  to  supply  them 
with  pure,  clean,  cool,  fresh  water.  In  these  yards  I  have 
racks  or  bins  to  feed  hay  from,  made  by  setting  cedar  posts 
solidly  in  the  ground  every  six  feet,  and  to  these  spiking  and 
bolting  two  by  six  timbers,  twenty-eight  inches  from  the 
ground,  then  boarding  tight  from  there  to  the  ground,  making  in 
reality,  a  box  twenty-eight  inches  deep.  Two  feet  above  these 
two  by  six  pieces,  I  bolt  another  two  by  six  timber  to  the 
posts,  to  prevent  the  cattle  getting  into  the  feed  bin  or  rack, 
but  allowing  them  to  run  their  heads  in  and  eat  without  wast- 
ing. This  rack  is  eight  feet  wide  and  one  hundred  feet  long 
in  each  yard,  and  needs  filling  up  with  hay  about  once  in  three 
days.  My  sheds  are  intended  only  for  shelter  from  storms  and 
cold,  and  to  sleep  in,  but  are  made  so  that  in  case  of  a  pro- 
tracted storm  they  can  be  fed  in  them.  In  these  sheds  I  have 
small  boxes  of  salt,  so  placed  that  cattle  can  go  to  them  at  will 
and  lick. 

My  corral  is  so  arranged  that  cattle  are  let  run  from  it 
into  the  pasture,  and  during  the  hot  days  in  Summer  the  gate 
is  left  open,  so  that  they  can  have  access  to  the  water  at  will. 

FEEDING. 

I  do  not  aim  to  feed  my  cattle  other  than  hay,  except  in 
cold  and  stormy  weather,  except  my  bulls,  calves  and  milch 
cows.  These  I  always  keep  well  fed,  using  chopped  feed  of 


622  NEMAHA  COUNTY,  NEBRASKA. 

barley,  oats  and  corn,  with  an  occasional  feed  of  millet.     Millet 
I  also  feed  to  all  of  niy  cattle  once  a  week. 

PROFITS. 

In  regard  to  profit,  during  the  last  two  years — 1878  and 
'79 — my  net  earnings  from  my  cattle  have  averaged  over  twenty 
per  cent,  per  annum,  and  as  I  am  now  prepared,  I  think  the 
next  two  years  will  net  me  thirty  per  cent,  per  annum.  This 
I  consider  a  good  investment. 

It  is  my  intention  as  quickly  as  possible  to  seed  my  land 
to  blue  grass  and  clover  for  pasture,  sowing  timothy  for  hay, 
and  fence  the  farm  into  forty  acre  tracts.  It  is  an  established 
fact  that  these  three  crops  of  grasses  do  well  here.  My  inten- 
tion is  to  rotate  crops  and  alternate  pasture. 

I  can  assure  any  one  who  lias  vim,  energy  and  character, 
that  just  as  good  openings  can  be  made  upon  almost  any  land  in 
Nebraska.  Having  resided  in  thirteen  different  States,  I  think 
I  am  able  to  form  an  unbiased  opinion,  and  I  do  conscientiously 
say,  that  in  no  place  have  I  found  so  many  advantages  and  so 
few  disadvantages  as  here  in  Nebraska.  My  advice  to  all  who 
seek  a  home  is,  Come  and  see,  and  be  convinced. 


ROBERT   W.  FURNAS, 

BROWNSVILLE,   NEMAHA  COUNTY. 

A  Fruit  Farm — Old  and  New — The  Orchard — Plums — Pears 
— Apricots  —  Grapes  —  Berries  —  Marketing. 

FURNAS  EVERGREEN  HOME  FRUIT  FARM. 

My  experience  with  fruit  growing  in  Nebraska  commenced 
in  the  Spring  of  1856,  and  then,  with  many  misgivings  and 
doubts,  I  confess,  for  we  had  known  the  region  west  of  the 
Missouri  river  as  the  great  American  desert.  Success  from  the 
first  was  gratifying,  and  my  expectations  more  than  gratified  in 
the  end.  » 


FRUIT  FARMING.  623 

My  location  is  in  Nemalia  county,  directly  on  the  west 
bank  of  the  Missouri  river,  thirty  miles  north  of  the  Nebraska 
and  Kansas  State  line.  The  elevation  is  a  fraction  over  one 
thousand  feet  above  the  sea  level,  on  high,  upland,  open  prairie. 
We,  doubtless,  have  an  advantageous  climatic  influence  from 
the  large  water  course,  and  abundance  of  native  timber  ad- 
jacent. Here  we  raise  apples,  pears,  peaches,  plums,  prunes, 
cherries,  apricots,  nectarines,  grapes,  and  all  the  other  small 
fruits. 

My  first  fruit  farm  consisted  of  sixty  acres,  planted  with 
the  varieties  of  fruits  named.  To  this  I  added  one  hundred 
acres  in  apples,  peaches  and  apricots  in  the  Spring  of  1875. 
This  planting  of  1875,  was  entirely  destroyed  by  grasshoppers 
that  year,  together  with  over  three  hundred  thousand  other 
trees  and  vines,  nursery  stock,  not  a  tree  left  of  the  hundred 
acre  orchard,  those  transplanted  that  Spring  seeming  to  have 
preference  with  'hopper  appetites.  This  was  the  only  grass- 
hopper visitation  of  the  region  in  my  residence  of  twenty-four 
years  in  Nebraska. 

That  farm  I  sold  in  1876,  and  in  the  Spring  of  1878, 
planted  me  a  new  fruit  farm  of  forty  acres,  which  I  am  pleased, 
for  personal  reasons,  to  call  "  Furnas  Evergreen  Home  Fruit 
Farm."  In  putting  out  this  farm,  I  have  endeavored  to  avail 
myself  of  the  experience  and  observation  of  my  twenty-four 
years  residence,  especially  in  the  region  in  which  I  am  located. 
The  ground,  as  in  my  old  orchard,  is  high,  upland,  open 
prairie,  in  fact  adjoins  the  old  farm.  The  exposure  is  slightly 
to  the  west  and  north,  but  all  nearly  level.  The  lay  of  this 
land  is  about  as  I  would  like  it,  well  drained,  inclining  to  the 
points  of  the  compass  indicated. 

The  entire  tract  is  surrounded  with  hedge  fence.  On  the 
north  line  Osage,  west  line  honey  locust,  south  and  east 
willows.  Twenty  feet  from  hedge  line,  inside,  I  have  a  row  of 
evergreens,  Scotch,  Austrian,  and  white  pines  on  three  sides 
and  European  larch  on  the  other,  planted  twenty  and  twelve 
feet  apart,  corresponding  with  fruit  tree  orchard  rows  adjoin- 
ing. Twenty  feet  inside  this  I  have  my  orchard,  in  blocks  of 


624  NEMAHA  COUNTY   NEBRASKA. 

varieties,  consisting  of  apples,  peach,  pear,  plum,  prune,  cherry, 
nectarine,  apricot  and  quince,  with  blackberries,  raspberries, 
strawberries,  currants  and  gooseberries  between  trees. 

THE  ORCHARD. 

The  apples  I  planted  twenty  feet  apart.  The  varieties, 
Ben  Davis,  Winesap,  Rawle's  Jannet,  Jonathan,  Red  June, 
Red  Astrachan,  Maiden's  Blush,  Bailey's  Sweet,  Tallman's 
Sweeting,  Starch,  Wolbridge,  with  a  few  other  varieties  for 
Autumn  purposes.  Nine-tenths  are  of  the  four  first  named 
varieties,  in  the  order  named,  for  profit.  Cherries,  eighteen 
feet  apart.  The  varieties,  Early  and  Late  Richmond  princi- 
pally, with  a  few  each  of  Belle  Magnifique,  Elton,  Royal 
Duke,  and  May  Duke.  Peaches,  twelve  feet  apart.  I  am 
aware  this  is  close.  My  theory,  however,  is  to  head-back  each 
3rear,  at  least  one-half  the  current  year's  growth.  Commence 
Avith  the  tree  at  one  year  on  this  plan,  and  it  can  be  kept  up. 
In  my  opinion,  it  is  the  true  theory  of  peach  culture.  By  it 
the  tree  is  made  to  mature  its  wood  more  perfectly,  comes 
into  bearing  earlier,  produces  larger  and  better  fruit,  more 
pounds,  and  brings  more  dollars  than  when  permitted  to  grow 
at  pleasure.  The  varieties  I  have  found  most  reliable  and 
profitable  are  Kale's,  North's,  and  Crawford's  Early,  followed 
with  Crawford's  Late,  Stump  the  World,  Heath  Cling,  and 
Solway.  I  have  a  very  fine  collection  of  native  seedlings, 
obtained  after  years  experience,  which  are  equal  in  all  respects 
to  any  of  the  varieties  named.  I  have  the  late  new  and  earlier 
varieties,  not  yet  fruited :  Alexander,  Amsden,  Downing, 
Murren,  Foster,  Gov.  Garland,  Beatrice,  and  Louise. 

Plum,  pear,  apricot,  quince,  prune,  nectarine,  all  planted 
same  distance  apart  as  peaches.  Shall  prune  liberally  to  keep 
within  due  bounds. 

PLUMS. 

The  only  varieties  of  plums  I  have  found  profitable  are 
Green  and  Imperial  Gage,  and  Wild  Goose.  Have  occasion- 
ally had  good  crops  of  Coe's  Golden  Drip  and  M'Laughlin. 
These  are  the  principal  varieties  planted  in  my  new  orchard. 


PEARS  —  APRICOTS  625 

My  old  plum  orchard  was  inclosed  with  picket  fence,  inside 
which  chickens  were  kept,  especially  hens  with  broods,  until 
plum  season  was  over.  This  precaution,  and  smoking  trees 
with  coal  tar.  always  secured  fruit  when  there  was  a  plum  sea- 
i  son.  I  have  had  admirable  success  with  German  prunes.  The 
only  difficulty  was  that  too  much  fruit  set,  which  if  not  thinned 
out  would  rot  on  the  trees. 

PEARS. 

While  most  people  have  been  discouraged  with  pear  cul- 
ture, I  have  had  no  reason  to  be,  and  attribute  my  success  to 
treatment  of  soil  and  tree,  with,  of  course,  regard  for  varieties 
cultivated.  I  keep  the  ground  clean  as  a  garden  bed,  con- 
stantly and  liberally  top  dressed  with  ashes,  lime,  and  all  the 

I  old  iron  scraps  and  tin  cans  pounded  up  I  can  obtain.  I  never 
allow  rampant  limbs  to  run  wild  in  growth.  I  pinch  off  and 
head  back  at  all  times,  beginning  an  early  government  of  all 
trees  and  vines,  and  more  particularly  the  pear.  The  old 
adage  we  were  taught  when  boys,  "  Just  as  the  twig  is  bent, 
the  tree's  inclined,"  meant  something  then;  more  now,  be- 

|  cause  there  are  more  twigs  to  bend.     The  varieties  found  most 

i  desirable  with  me  are  Bartlett,  Howell,  St.  Lawrence,  Lone 
Ben,  Seckel,  Beurre  d'Anjou,  Beurre*  Diel,  Clapp's  Favorite, 
Doyenne"  d'Ete,  Vicar,  Bloodgood,  Buffum,  Duchesse  d'  An- 
gouleme.  Both  on  the  old  and  new  farms  I  planted  largely  of 

'  dwarf  trees,  which  are  great  pets  with  me,  showing  apprecia- 
tion of  kind  treatment  more,  I  think,  than  any  other  fruit  tree 
grown; 

I  APRICOTS. 

When  we  have  plums,  we  have  apricots.     I  have  pro- 
duced some  as  fine  specimens  as  one  could  desire  to  see  or 
taste.     Breda  and  Moorpark  are  reliable  and  profitable,  always 
'  bringing  good  prices  —  four  to  six  dollars  per  bushel.     When 
picked  just  before  full  color,  they  bear  shipping  well. 

GRAPES. 

Grapes  I  plant  six  feet,  in  rows  running  north  and  south, 
rows  eight  feet  apart.  Train  to  wire,  then  on  posts  sixteen 

40 


626  NEMAHA  COUNTY,  NEBRASKA. 

feet  apart.  Prune  closely  as  soon  as  leaves  drop  in  Fall,  and 
pinch  back  during  Summer,  after  fruit  is  formed,  and  until 
after  picked.  Leading  varieties,  hardy  and  reliable  here,  Con- 
cord, Hartford,  Ives,  Delaware.  There  is  no  trouble  with 
most  varieties  of  grapes  in  this  locality.  Catawba  and  Isa- 
bella require  more  severe  pruning  and  pinching  to  secure  good 
clusters  and  berries  than  any  other.  The  Norden  is  a  promis- 
ing grape  with  us.  The  white,  or  green  varieties,  Martha, 
Lady  Elvira,  and  Goethe,  give  good  crops,  and  bring  good 
prices.  Everybody  grows  Concord,  and  hence  prices  of  this 
variety  are  often  very  low. 

BERRIES. 

I  have  planted  blackberries,  raspberries,  currants,  and 
gooseberries,  one  plant  midway  between  fruit  trees,  twelve 
feet  apart,  and  the  plants  each  four  feet  apart  between  apple 
and  cherry  trees.  Blackberries  and  raspberries  are  kept 
trained  to  stakes.  These,  with  currants  and  gooseberries,  are 
kept  deeply  mulched  at  all  times.  Strawberries  I  also  culti" 
vate  between  fruit  tree  rows,  allowing  to  grow  in  matted  rows 
two  feet  wide,  also  mulched. 

Wilson's  Early  blackberry  I  have  found  most  profitable. 
The  Snyder  does  well,  but  is  not  so  good  a  berry,  nor  does  it: 
bring  so  good  a  price.     Kittatinny  and  Lawton  often  give  fair 
crops. 

Our  native  wild  Black  Cap  raspberry  is  a  most  excellent 
variety,  improves  with  cultivation,  and  taken  all  in  all,  is  the 
most  desirable  we  cultivate.  The  Gregg  and  Thuack  give  sat- 
isfaction. The  same  may  be  said  of  Seneca,  Turner,  Miami, 
Clarke,  Philadelphia.  I  have  all  these  varieties.  This  season 
I  have  planted,  in  addition,  Pride  of  the  Market,  Hudson,  anc 
Cuthbert. 

Wilson's  Albany   is  the  Old   Reliable   strawberry,   aftei 
all.     I  have  growing,  and  have  fruited,  Crescent,  Forest  Rose 
Downing,  Capt.  Jack,  Colfax,  Green  Prolific,  Monarch  of  th 
West,  and  many  other  new  and  modern  varieties.     All  straw- 
berries, with  me,  are  good.      The  boy,  you  will  remember 


MARKETING.  62T 

when  asked  what  he  thought  of  strawberries,  replied,  "  God 
might  have  made  better  fruit,  but  He  never  did"  I  am 
inclined  to  agree  with  the  boy  in  my  estimation  of  straw- 
berries. 

I  am  experimenting  with  Japan  persimmons.  The  tree  has 
gone  through  one  Winter  with  simply  heavy  mulch  about  the 
roots.  That  is  all  I  can  say  of  or  for  it  at  present. 

MARKETING. 

Ill  handling  fruits  of  all  kinds,  I  am  particular  to  allow 
none  but  select  specimens  to  go  to  market.  All  inferior  is 
dried  or  worked  up  into  vinegar.  Thus  one  always  gets  good 
prices  and  a  good  name,  which  the  good  Book  says,  "  is  better 
than  great  riches."  I  often  sell  select  peaches  in  baskets,  at 
from  two  to  four  dollars  per  bushel,  while  same  varieties,  good, 
bad,  large,  small  and  indifferent,  all  mixed  up  pell  mell  in  a 
box,  or  wagon  bed,  sell  for  fifty  cents.  My  grapes  will  always 
command  from  two  to  three  cents  per  pound  more  than  a 
jumbled  up  lot. 

On  general  principles,  I  want  neither  weeds  nor  grass  with 
my  fruit  trees  or  vines.  Clean  cultivation  and  well  fed  soil,  is 
my  theory.  By  well  fed  soil  I  mean  the  same  treatment  we 
give  ourselves,  our  cattle,  horses,  swine,  sheep,  etc.,  etc.  Keep 
up  the  properties  that  give  health,  growth  and  production,  and 
with  the  same  regularity  and  care.  Give  back  to  the  soil,  each 
year,  as  much  at  least,  as  you  take  from  it.  This,  in  short,  is, 
my  theory  of  cultivating  and  caring  for  fruit. 


628  HAMILTON  COUNTY,  NEBRASKA. 

E.  S.  PHELPS, 

AUEOKA,   HAMILTON    COUNTY. 

Stock  Farm  —  Drainage  —  Fencing —  A    Comfortable 

Stock  Raising — Poultry —  Wheat  on  New  Land — Prairie 
Land  —  Plenty  of    Water. 

A  STOCK  FARM. 

I  came  to  this  section  in  February,  1879,  from  Bureau 
county,  Illinois,  where  I  had  a  fruit  farm,  which  I  sold,  as  I 
desired  a  stock  farm.  I  bought  eighty  acres  on  the  east  half, 
southeast  quarter  of  section  twelve,  town  of  Aurora.  I  took 
the  west  eighty  of  the  same  quarter  as  a  timber,  claim,  then 
purchased  the-  northeast  quarter,  section  thirteen,  of  the  Union 
Pacific  railroad,  thus  giving  me  a  half  section  of  good,  rolling 
land.  Beaver  creek  runs  across  section  twelve,  thus  affording 
me  water  for  my  stock,  while  the  grass  is  several  weeks  earlier 
in  the  Spring,  and  lasts  much  longer  in  the  Fall  than  on  high 
land.  As  stock  raising  was  my  main  desire,  this  creek  was 
-quite  an  object. 

FENCES. 

I  have  enclosed  a  pasture  of  about  sixty  acres,  taking  in 
the  creek  and  its  banks,  with  ravines,  using  red  cedar  posts, 
costing  fifteen  cents  at  Grand  Island,  and  two  wires  of  the 
American  Barb  wire,  with  a  smooth  wire  between.  The  cost 
of  the  pasture  fence,  besides  labor,  was  about  one  hundred  and 
sixty  dollars.  On  the  northeast  of  section  twelve  I  have  laid 
off  about  four  acres  for  orchard,  running  forty  rods  south,  with 
a  double  row  of  forest  trees  on  the  west;  rows  eight  feet  apart, 
and  trees  nearly  eight  feet  in  the  rows ;  trees  half  way  between 
in  the  row  for  windbreak.  Willows  are  on  the  north  and  east 
lines.  South  of  this,  ten  rods  back  from  the  road — as  every 
section  line  here  is  a  road — is  my  house,  eighteen  by  twenty- 


DRAINAGE  — STOCK  RAISING.  629 

four  feet.     The  basement  has  a  kitchen,  buttery  and  bedroom. 
Above  is  a  sitting  room  and  two  bedrooms. 

From  the  creek  the  land  rises  to  the  first  table  land,  which 
I  usually  reserve  for  hay,  the  grass  growing  heavy,  even  four 
tons  per  acre.  From  this  it  rises  both  south  and  northeast. 
The  northeast  quarter  of  my  land  slopes  to  the  south  and  west. 
The  railroad  quarter  stands  to  the  north,  toward  the  creek. 

DRAINAGE. 

Very  little  drainage  is  needed  here,  as  the  soil  is  so  porous 
that  all  water  is  soon  drawn  into  the  ground,  and  only  where 
there  are  lagoons  or  alkali  lands  is  it  wet.  The  buffalo  walloAvs 
are  of  the  last  kind,  and  are  scattered,  in  small  places,  over 
most  of  the  country,  but  cultivation  makes  these  all  right  in  a 
few  years. 

I  believe  it  will  be  hard  to  find  land  that  is  easier  culti- 
vated, and  will  yield  better  crops.  Of  course  some  crops  will 
not  do  as  well  here  as  in  other  localities,  but  common  crops  do 
well.  The  climate  is  clear  and  dry,  and  the  nights  almost 
invariably  cool,  so  that  one  can  sleep  well. 

STOCK  RAISING. 

Stock  raising  is  my  main  idea,  as  fast  as  I  can  get  to  it. 
I  brought  from  Illinois  a  red,  blood  Durham  bull,  two  three- 
quarter  blood  cows,  and  three  heifers,  with  one  Ayreshire 
heifer,  also  one  half  blood  Norman  mare  that  has  a  colt  from 
a  Norman  horse,  and  three  other  work  horses.  I  brought  five 
Cotswold  ewes,  and  four  Poland  sows.  This  constituted  my 
stock  to  start  from.  I  intend  increasing  my  flock  of  sheep  by 
buying  some  more  soon.  Sheep  have  done  well  this  season, 
and  sheep  raisers  say  they  pay  the  best  of  any  stock. 

POULTRY. 

In  the  poultry  line  I  raise  only  White  Dorkings.  This 
breed  I  have  had  for  over  thirty  years,  and  have  yet  to  see  any 
breed  that  I  like  better  as  a  table  fowl,  their  flesh  being  rich 
and  juicy,  and  they  are  also  fair  hiyers.  I  have  also  the  white 
and  spotted — not  speckled — Guineas.  Guineas  are  great  de- 


630  HAMILTON   COUNTY,  NEBRASKA 

stroyers  of  bugs,  etc. ;  much  more  useful  in  this  respect  than 
common  fowls.  They  are  great  layers,  and  their  flesh  is  number 
one  as  a  table  fowl. 

FARM   IMPLEMENTS. 

I  brought  with  me  a  McCormick  Advance  reaper,  Quincy 
corn  planter  with  Ha  worth's  check  rower,  LaSalle  plows,  both 
old  ground  and  breaking.  I  consider  them  number  one.  A 
Joliet  corn  sheller,  power,  and  an  O'Brien  Bros,  vibrating  har- 
row, with  Black  Hawk  and  LaSalle  corn  cultivators,  complete 
my  stock  of  implements. 

BREAKING   SOD. 

On  the  railroad  quarter  I  broke  forty  acres  last  year.  I 
put  in  thirty-two  acres  of  it  in  wheat  that  averaged  about  ten 
bushels.  I  plowed  deeper  and  put  in  eight  acres  of  corn  that 
have  done  fairly,  probably  thirty-five  bushels  per  acre.  I  have 
now  broken  on  the  railroad  land  about  one  hundred  and  ten 
acres,  and  on  the  other  about  fifty  acres.  I  expect  to  sow 
seventy  acres  of  Spring  wheat,  and  plant  eighty  acres  of  corn. 

THE  GARDEN. 

My  garden  is  large,  as  I  raise  many  kinds  of  garden 
vegetables.  I  never  saw  such  carrots  as  grew  here  last  year ; 
beets  and  onions  did  well,  also  salsify.  Tomatoes  and  cabbages 
I  raised  equal  to  Illinois.  Peas,  the  Jack  rabbits  would  eat  up 
nights  and  I  did  not  have  as  many  as  I  planted.  Beans  did  not 
do  well ;  were  rather  a  failure.  My  sweet  corn  was  number  one. 
Turnips  were  nice  and  large.  My  melons  very  fine.  Winter 
squashes  are  not  dry  this  year,  as  they  generally  are  here,  but 
appear  immature. 

FRUIT  TREES. 

On  this  farm  I  found  twenty-four  apple  trees,  about  one 
hundred  plum  trees,  wild  ones,  that  were  transplanted.  There 
are  also  four  plum  groves  on  iny  creek,  and  I  have  at  least 
six  or  eight  distinct  varieties,  yellow,  purple,  etc.  Some  of 
them  are  very  nice.  I  found  a  few  grape  vines,  said  to  be 
Concords,  and  on  the  creek  some  wild  ones,  which  bore  grapes 
as  large  as  the  Clintons.  I  re-set  the  apple  trees,  as  they 


GOOD  COUJNTKY  FOK  POOH  PEOPLE.  631 

were  in  a  disordered  state,  and  put  the  rows  thirty-four  and  a 
half  feet  apart,  and  thirty-four  and  a  half  feet  in  the  rows, 
My  experience  is  that  fruit  trees  crowded  do  not  yield  such 
good  fruit  as  those  that  the  sun  can  shine  well  among. 

SOIL. 

My  land  is  all  prairie,  mostly  a  gentle,  rolling  plain.  The 
land  is  rich.  The  clay,  or  subsoil,  is  full  of  lime,  called  by 
some  calcine.  Vegetation  on  this,  when  mixed  with  the 
black,  upper  soil,  grows  very  rank. 

The  eighty  acres  I  bought  on  section  twelve,  was  a  home- 
stead. The -man  I  bought  of  was  no  farmer,  and  consequently 
the  land  that  was  broken,  forty  acres,  was  in  very  poor 
condition,  full  of  weeds.  I  can  not  give  the  cost  of  the  crops 
raised  this  year.  I  have  twenty-five  acres  of  corn  that  will 
average  fifty  bushels.  I  measured  some  that  went  over  sixty 
bushels.  Oats  were  injured  by  the  rain  in  harvest  and  con- 
siderably damaged,  so  I  lost  many  of  them,  and  can  not  tell 
what  the  yield  was. 

There  is  probably  as  little  waste  land  in  Hamilton  as  can 
be  found  in  any  county  in  the  State.  The  Platte  forms  the 
northwest  boundary  of  the  county,  having  the  towns  Central 
City,  Chapman,  and  Grand  Island  across  the  river  on  the  Union 
Pacific  railroad,  each  about  twenty-two  miles  from  Aurora. 
Blue  river  runs  near  the  south  line  of  the  county,  and  lias  two 
branches,  on  which  are  mills.  Beaver  creek  is  south  of 
Aurora,  running  into  York,  and  Lincoln  creek  is  on  the  north 
of  the  town,  which  is  on  the  dividing  ridge.  Both  of  these 
creeks  are  dry,  except  in  places,  most  of  the  year.  There  are 
ponds  in  them  that  furnish  stock  water.  In  places  on  the 
creeks  are  some  timber  and  plum  thickets.  I  think  I  can 
safely  say  this  is  a  desirable  country  for  poor  people  to  start 
farms.  Water  can  be  found  anywhere  by  going  to  the  level  of 
the  Platte,  from  twenty  to  two  hundred  feet.  Nearly  all  the 
wells  are  bored  and  curbed,  costing  about  twenty-five  cents 
per  foot. 


632  THAYER  COUNTY,  NEBRASKA. 

S.  G.  SCHOONOVER, 

OAK  L ETON,     THAYER     COUNTY. 

Soil   of   the    County  —  Building    Stone  —  Implements    Used  — 
Wheat  Raising  —  Fruits  —  Timber. 

The  soil  of  this  county  is  deep,  black,  rich,  and  mellow. 
There  is  plenty  of  building'  stone  in  the  quarries,  but  none  on 
the  surface.  The  water  is  clear  and  soft.  All  kinds  of  crops 
grow  luxuriantly.  The  seasons  of  1877,  1878,  and  1879,  were 
rather  wet.  The  surface  of  the  country  is  rolling  prairie. 

SOIL  EXETAUSTLESS. 

The  soil  can  never  be  exhausted  until  every  bill  and  val- 
ley which  composes  it  is  washed  away. 

MACHINERY. 

I  use  the  following  farming  implements:  The  John  Deere 
breaking  plow,  which  I  have  used  for  ten  years  with  good  suc- 
cess; a  Wood's  mower,  Bufort  &  Warren  gang  and  sulky 
plows,  Furst  &  Bradley  walking  corn  plow,  Furst  &  Bradley 
sulky  rake,  a  McCormick  reaper,  and  a  Turner  header,  with 
which  I  cut  most  of  my  grain.  I  cut  from  fifteen  to  twenty 
acres  a  day,  and  put  it  in  the  stack.  It  employs  five  teams  and 
seven  hands.  I  keep  my  farming  implements  under  shelter 
when  not  in  use.  I  find,  by  actual  test,  that  they  will  last  four 
times  as  long  by  taking  this  care  ;  and  I  also  make  it  a  rule  to 
repair  them  at  once  whenever  they  require. 

COST  O-F  CROPS. 

It  costs  from  sixty  to  seventy-five  cents  per  bushel  to 
raise  Avheat ,  corn  from  ten  to  fifteen  cents  ;  oats  from  ten  to 
twelve  and  a  half  cents ;  barley  from  twenty-five  to  thirty-five 


FRUIT  —  TIMBER.  633 

cents.  I  convert  most  of  my  corn  into  pork  and  beef.  I  use 
nearly  exclusively  the  prairie  grass  for  pasture. 

FRUIT. 

Apples  do  well  here  ;  that  is,  some  kinds,  such  as  Ben 
Davis,  Winesap,  Dominie,  Willow  Twig,  Red  June,  Early 
Harvest,  and  Red  Astrachan.  All  these  have  done  well  with 
me,  and  I  think  there  are  still  a  few  other  kinds  that  will 
thrive  here.  Peaches  do  very  well  here,  both  the  budded  and 
seedlings.  I  think  seedlings  are  the  hardiest.  It  has  not  been 

o  *— ' 

cold  enough  here  for  the  past  ten  years  to  kill  all  the  peach 
buds. 

Some  cherries  do  very  well.  There  are  four  kinds,  the 
Early  Richmond,  Late  Richmond,  Late  Kent,  and  Morello, 
that  produce  well.  I  have  raised  this  fruit  nine  years,  and 
never  missed  a  crop.  The  cherries  are  worth  fifteen  cents  per 
quart. 

Plums  average  well.  Indeed,  this  climate  appears  to  be 
the  natural  home  of  the  plum.  Pears  do  not  yield  very  well 
with  me,  neither  do  apricots  nor  quinces. 

SMALL  FRUIT. 

Blackberries  prove  profitable.  Wilson's  Early  does  well. 
I  have  not  failed  to  raise  a  crop  for  the  last  three  years. 
Gooseberries  are  adapted  to  the  climate,  bearing  every  year. 

Raspberries  of  every  kind  do  well,  as  does  the  grape  ; 
that  is,  the  Concord  thrives  remarkably*  Strawberries  yield 

well. 

TIMBER. 

The  great  objection  urged  against  this  country  is  that  it 
is  prairie.  We  can  have  timber  if  we  will  plant  trees.  I 
planted  cottonwood  sprouts  about  one  and  a  half  feet  high  six 
years  ago.  I  now  have  trees  forty  feet  high,  four  to  five 
inches  at  the  base.  I  planted  them  in  rows  four  feet  apart 
each  way.  This  Winter  I  cut  out  one  row  and  left  one.  I 
have  planted  box  elders,  soft  maple,  black  walnut,  ash.  coffee 
nut,  evergreens,  balsam  firs,  red  cedar,  Scotch  pine,  Norway 
spruce,  and  white  pine. 


634  YORK  COUNTY,  NEBRASKA. 

W.  C.  SMITH, 

WACO,  YORK  COUNTY. 

Two   Crood  Creeks  —  Stock  —  Wheat    liaising  —  Corn  —  Berk- 
shires  and  Poland  China  —  Timber  Culture. 

NATURAL    ADVANTAGES. 

There  are  two  creeks  which  run  through  our  county  from 
east  to  west  —  Lincoln  creek  and  Beaver  creek.  On  these 
streams  we  have  four  flour  mills. 

STOCK. 

All  kinds  of  stock  do  well  here.  We  have  abundance  of 
pasture  lands,  and  as  corn  produces  in  abundance,  stock  thrives. 

HEALTH. 

Many  invalids  come  here  from  the  East,  and  improve  rap- 
idly in  health,  as  we  have  a  pure,  dry  atmosphere. 

WHEAT   RAISING. 

Wheat  raising  is  one  of  the  leading  features  of  Nebraska. 
I  do  my  plowing  in  the  Fall  for  wheat,  at  an  expense  of  one 
dollar  per  acre.  It  is  a  great  benefit  to  the  ground  to  freeze 
and  pulverize  it  through  the  Winter,  and  thus  have  it  fully 
ready  for  early  seeding  in  the  Spring.  I  find  that  Spring 
wheat  can  not  be  sown  too  early  in  the  Spring.  It  should  be 
done  soon  after  the  middle  of  February,  or  as  soon  as  the 
ground  will  admit  of  working.  I  use  the  best  seed,  and  clean 
it  well  with  the  fanning  mill. 

I  sow  from  one  to  two  bushels  per  acre.  Red  Chaff  and 
Tea  wheat  are  the  old  stand-bys,  yet  there  are  many  new 
varieties  which  do  well.  I  use  a  good  broadcast  seeder,  har- 
row the  ground  after  the  seeder,  then  cross  harrow  the  same, 
which  leaves  the  ground  in  a  good  smooth  condition  for  harvest- 
ing, at  an  expense  of  fifty  cents  per  acre. 

Barley  and  oats  do  better  on  Spring  plowing  and  are  put 


HARVESTING  — CORN.  635 

in  the  same  as  wheat,  and  at  the  same  cost.  I  recommend 
rolling  after  the  grain  gets  about  three  or  four  inches  high,  for 
it  packs  the  soil  around  and  helps  the  roots. 

HARVESTING. 

I  harvest  about  the  middle  of  July,  which  is  not  the  labor 
it  formerly  was,  as  two  men  with  a  good  improved  self-binding 
harvester  will  cut  and  shock  from  ten  to  fifteen  acres  per  day. 
This  will  cost  about  one  and  one-fourth  dollars  per  acre.  The 
expense  of  stacking,  threshing  and  marketing  amount  to  two 
dollars  per  acre,  which  gives  me  a  total  cost  of  four  dollars  and 
seventy-five  cents  per  acre,  without  estimating  the  seed.  My 
yield,  for  the  last  eight  years,  has  been  about  eighteen  bushels 

to  the  acre. 

CORN. 

I  commence  plowing  for  corn  as  soon,  as  the  small  grain  is 
all  sown.  I  find  I  can  do  this  for  one  dollar  per  acre.  I  then 
harrow  the  ground  thoroughly,  so  as  to  have  it  good  and  smooth 
for  marking  and  planting,  which  I  do  with  a  two-horse  planter, 
at  an  expense  of  about  one  dollar  per  acre.  I  harrow  as  soon 
as  planted,  and  when  the  corn  is  about  three  inches  high,  I 
begin  cultivating  the  same  with  a  two-horse  cultivator,  and 
work  it  through  twice  each  way.  It  is  then  ready  to  lay  by, 
and  has  cost  about  eighty-five  cents  per  acre.  Gathering 
and  cribbing  cost  one  and  one-quarter  dollars  per  acre  more, 
which  makes  a  total  outlay  of  four  dollars  and  five  cents  an 
acre.  Fifty  bushels  per  acre  has  been  the  average  yield  for  the 
past  eight  years.  About  half  of  the  corn  I  raise  I  ship  to 
Eastern  markets,  the  remainder  I  turn  into  pork. 

HOGS. 

The  breeds  I  raise  are  the  Berkshire  and  the  Poland  China. 
Both  are  generally  ready  for  market  at  any  time  after  they  are 
six  months  old,  if  they  have  received  care  and  attention.  They 
are  very  hardy  and  not  liable  to  disease  of  any  kind. 

TIMBER  CULTURE. 

I  find  the  best  method  of  stocking  our  prairies  with  timber 


636  SEWARD  COUNTY,  NEBRASKA. 

is  to  prepare  the  soil  precisely  as  if  I  were  going  to  raise  a  large 
crop  of  corn.  The  quickest  way  to  raise  a  grove  is  with  cut- 
tings or  small  sprouts  of  cottonwood  or  willow.  I  plow,  drag 
and  mark  the  same  as  for  corn,  four  feet  each  way,  which  will 
give  two  thousand,  seven  hundred  and  twenty-two  hills  to 
the  acre.  I  then  plant  one-half  to  trees,  four  feet  one  way  and 
eight  feet  the  other,  making  one  thousand,  eight  hundred  and 
sixty-one  trees  ;  and  the  other  half  I  plant  in  corn  for  two 
years,  so  as  to  pay  for  cultivation.  This  method  affords  them 
all  the  cultivation  needed.  I  adopt  the  same  plan  in  planting 
acorns,  hickory  nuts,  white  and  black  walnut,  soft  maple,  elm 
and  ash,  where  the  sprouts  are  one  year  old.  White  pine, 
arbor  vitse,  red  cedar,  European  and  American  larch,  when 
large  enough  to  transplant,  require  more  cultivation.  I  esti- 
mate the  cost  of  preparing  an  acre  and  setting  the  cuttings  of 
soft  maple  or  ash,  at  three  dollars  per  acre.  I  can  plant  two 
and  one-half  acres  per  day.  This  is  all  their  cost  for  ten  years. 
I  have  some  cottonwood  trees  six  years  old  which  will  measure 
six  and  seven  inches  through,  and  they  are  from  sixteen  to 
twenty  feet  high. 


CLAUDIUS  JONES, 

SEWARD,   SEWARD   COUNTY. 

A  Model  Barn  —  Its  Accommodations. 

A  MODEL  BARN. 

My  farm  consists  of  six  hundred  and  forty  acres,  situated 
one  mile  from  town.  My  main  building  is  forty  by  eighty  feet 
in  dimensions,  with  twenty-foot  posts,  the  whole  surmounted 
by  a  gambrel  roof.  A  shed,  twelve  feet  wide,  surrounds  it 
entirely. 

I  built  the  mows  so  that  they  have  capacity  for  holding 
two  hundred  tons  of  hay.  I  have  two  hundred  and  sixty-four 


BARN  AND  STABLE. 


681 


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638  SEWARD  COUNTY,  NEBRASKA. 

feet  of  stabling,  twelve  feet  wide.  Between  the  mows  and 
mangers  an  alley  runs.  My  mangers  have  a  water  trough  run- 
ning their  entire  length,  as  indicated  by  the  dark  line  in  the 
diagram.  Enclosed  in  a  cupola  on  the  center  of  the  ridge  of 
the  barn,  is  a  wind  engine.  This  cupola  is  twelve  by  twelve 
feet.  The  engine  pumps  the  water  required  for  the  stock,  cuts 
the  straw,  that  is,  drives  the  straw  cutter,  and  works  the  mill 
that  grinds  the  feed  used.  I  can  slip  the  belt  from  one  to  the 
other,  as  required. 

I  also  have  a  horse  pitch  fork,  which  is  so  arranged  that  it 
takes  but  five  minutes'  time  to  unload  a  load  of  hay. 

CATTLE   STALLS. 

I  set  the  stalls  for  fattening  cattle  three  feet  apart,  and  for 
smaller  animals,  but  two  feet,  six  inches  apart.  A  corn  crib 
connects  with  them,  and  the  entire  yard  is'Surrounded  by  yards. 

As  the  barn  rests  on  a  stone  foundation  two  and  a  half  feet 
high,  it  makes  a  very  substantial  building.  I  have  sought  to 
make  this  barn  as  comfortable  and  convenient  as  it  is  possible 
to  render  it.  I  have  over  five  hundred  cattle,  which  bring  me 
handsome  returns. 


FLAN  OF  BARN  AND  YARD, 


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640  BOONE  COUNTY,  NEBRASKA. 

H.  RICE, 

ALBION,   BOONE  COUNTY. 

A   Land   of  Promise  —  Wheat  Land  —  Plows    Early  —  Cut* 
His  Grrain  Before  Quite  Ripe — Experience — Forest  Culture. 

NEBRASKA    ONCE   A  WASTE. 

We  are  in  that  belt  of  the  United  States  that  at  one  time 
was  considered  a  land  of  waste,  a  desert,  uninhabited,  and 
abounding  in  rolling  waves  of  prairie,  which  were  worthless 
and  could  never  be  utilized  for  the  purposes  of  the  white  man, 
—  created  only  for  the  red  man  of  the  prairie.  Nebraska  is 
about  equally  divided  as  to  the  situation  of  her  soil.  Between 
her  streams  and  rivers  are  belts  of  rolling  prairie,  which  are 
susceptible  of  maintaining  a  vast  population  on  the  cereals, 
and  of  sustaining  immense  herds  of  cattle  and  sheep.  The 
rolling  prairies  have  no  timber,  save  what  has  been  planted 
by  the  sturdy  pioneer.  Along  the  rivers  and  streams,  which 
are  very  numerous,  may  be  found  belts  of  the  cottonwood, 
box  elder,  and  maple  ;  also  white  elm.  These  are  the  chief 
woods,  which  thrive  and  grow  for  fuel  and  farm  use  in  a  few 
years  after  being  planted  out. 

THE   SOIL. 

The  soil  all  over  the  State  is  about  the  same,  consisting  of 
a  black  calcareous  loam,  impregnated  with  an  abundance  of 
decayed  vegetable  matter,  composed  of  those  chemicals  and 
elements  which  are  essential  to  the  successful  raising  of  grain 
and  grasses.  In  depth  the  soil  is  from  three  to  six  feet,  with  a 
subsoil  of  a  whitish  clay,  and  sometimes  of  a  blue  clay. 

SOIL    INEXHAUSTIBLE. 

My  experience,  from  fanning  more  or  less  for  the  past; 
fifteen  years  in  the  State,  is  that  the  land  can  not  susily  be 


BREAKING  PRAIRIE.  641 

exhausted.  I  know  of  some  farms  lying  in  small  valleys,  that 
have  raised  successfully  for  twenty-two  years  wheat  and  oats 
every  year,  and  the  crop  has  always  been  a  good  one. 

I  am  to-day  farming  sixty-five  acres,  which  for  the  past 
ten  years  have  been  sown  to  wheat  alone,  and  all  who  have 
had  experience  in  wheat  growing  know  how  it  exhausts  the 
soil.  This  year  this  piece  produced  as  well  as  the  first  season 
I  ever  sowed  it  to  grain.  But  I  would  not  advise  any  farmer 
to  pursue  this  course,  for  when  the  land  begins  to  be  exhausted, 
it  goes  down  very  rapidly,  and  then  it  is  hard  to  raise  it  again, 
without  heavy  fertilizing. 

BREAKING  PRAIRIE. 

My  first  year  here  I  bought  me  a  yoke  of  oxen,  costing 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars.  I  bought  them  in  prefer- 
ence to  horses,  as  they  were  so  much  cheaper,  and  it  required 
no  grain  to  feed  them,  as  our  nutritious  grasses  were  sufficient 
to  keep  them  in  healthy  condition  while  at  work.  They  are 
the  team  for  the  man  who  comes  here  with  little  or  no  capital. 
I  began  to  break  prairie  about  the  first  of  June,  the  breaking 
season  lasting  two  months,  in  which  time  the  grass  kept  grow- 
ing, so  that  when  turned  under  it  generated  so  much  heat  that 
the  sod  by  Fall  was  thoroughly  rotted.  One  yoke  of  oxen  with 
a  sixteen  inch  breaking  plow,  will  break  up  from  fifty  to  sev- 
enty-five acres  in  the  breaking  season.  The  first  year  this 
can  be  planted  to  corn,  which  yields  from  ten  to  forty  bushels 
to  the  acre,  according  to  the  season.  The  next  Spring  this 
same  ground  can  be  sown  to  wheat,  after  clearing  off  the  corn- 
stalks, and  then  produces  from  twelve  to  twenty  bushels  to  the 
acre,  which,  marketed,  brings  about  seventy  cents  per  bushel 
after  all  expenses  are  paid.  If  a  man  has  broken  with  his 
cattle  sixty  acres,  and  the  first  year  raised  nine  hundred 
bushels  of  wheat,  you  can  readily  perceive  how  he  has  got 
along,  and  what  he  can  have  in  a  few  years  by  economy  and 
frugality.  While  he  is  raising  grain,  he  can  at  the  same  time 
beautify  his  home  and  increase  its  value  (adding  to  his  comfort 
by  protecting  himself  from  the  inclemencies  of  our  Winters 
41 


642  BOONE  COUNTY,  NEBRASKA. 

and  storms  of  Summer),  in  planting  out  different  varieties  of 
native  timber,  of  the  kinds  I  have  already  mentioned. 

WHEAT. 

After  my  crop  has  been  harvested  and  threshed,  the  straw 
is  left  in  some  out  of  the  way  place  to  become  decomposed,  or 
partly  so,  which  will  take  from  one  to  two  years  if  left  in 
small  piles.  I  then  scatter  this  over  the  stubble-fields  lightly, 
and  plow  under  in  the  Fall.  I  raise  nothing  but  Spring  wheat, 
and  to  produce  a  good  sure  crop,  the  ground  for  the  same  must 
be  Fall  plowed,  the  earlier  the  better,  as  the  longer  it  remains 
exposed  to  the  thawing  and  freezing  of  our  Winters,  the  bet- 
ter its  condition  for  the  reception  of  the  seed.  Again,  another 
advantage  derived  from  early  plowing  in  the  Fall,  or  right 
away  after  the  crop  has  been  taken  from  the  field  is,  that  the 
warm  days  starve  the  foul  seed  of  weeds  and  other  worthless 
vegetation,  and  the  first  frosts  kill  them  completely,  there- 
by leaving  the  farmer's  land  in  a  good  healthy  condition  to 
pursue  his  occupations  without  taking  too  much  of  his  time  in 
killing  and  contending  against  weeds  and  worthless  stuff. 

SOWING  AND   REAPING. 

I  have  been  much  more  successful  than  many  of  my  neigh- 
bors in  killing  weeds.  Then  when  the  frost  begins  to  leave  the 
ground  in  Spring  I  go  on  with  seeder  and  harrow  and  sow  the 
grain,  which  is  mostly  done  by  the  fifteenth  of  February  to  the 
tenth  of  March,  thereby  having  my  grain  ready  to  germinate 
by  the  first  rays  of  the  Spring  sun  as  he  warms  Mother  Earth 
into  vitality  and  recuperation.  At  this  period  the  neighbors 
are  not  sowing,  while  my  grain  is  growing  and  getting  ready 
for  the  dry  spell,  which  so  often  occurs  just  when  the  grain 
is  in  flower ;  but  which  does  not  so  badly  affect  grain  which 
has  been  sown  in  the  latter  part  of  March  to  the  middle 
of  April.  I  never  let  my  grain  of  any  kind  stand  till  it  is 
ripe,  but  when  the  stalk  begins  to  turn  yellow  at  the  root,  I 
hastily  cut,  shock,  and  put  in  stack,  after  letting  it  stand  from 
one  to  two  days,  according  to  the  condition  of  weather.  My 
grain  then  is  plump,  healthy,  and  weighs  heavier  and  is  better 


FOREST  TREES.  643 

for  the  markets,  commanding  better  prices  for  milling  purposes. 
It  is  not  affected  in  any  way  for  seed  either.  I  know  from 
experience  that  it  is  better,  and  produces  a  more  perfect  crop 
than  if  it  were  left  to  get  perfectly  ripe  before  cutting. 

FOREST   TREES. 

Many  of  the  Eastern  forest  trees  thrive  here,  such  as  the 
locust,  walnut,  ash,  and  poplar.  The  different  ornamental 
trees  which  adorn  the  yards  of  our  homes,  grow  rapidly,  and 
do  well. 

My  experience  has  been  that  trees  of  any  kind,  after  being 
planted  and  cultivated  two  seasons,  should  never  again  be  dis- 
turbed with  hoe  or  plow,  but  should  be  mulched  with  straw 
.and  half  rotten  manure,  which  prevents  the  ground  drying  up 
fast,  while  at  the  same  time  it  is  a  good  growing  fertilizer 
for  them.  I  tried  the  plan  just  mentioned,  and  also  pursued 
for  four  years  the  plan  of  thorough  cultivation.  After  this 
length  of  time,  my  results  are  as  follows,  viz. :  Those  that 
were  thoroughly  cultivated  did  riot  attain  in  this  time  more 
than  the  one-half  growth  of  the  mulched  ones,  and  were 
inferior  in  quality,  not  having  a  healthy  appearance,  and  were 
more  easily  affected  by  insects.  Severe  sudden  changes  in 
Winter  from  warm  to  extreme  cold,  destroyed  great  numbers 
of  them  for  me,  especially  of  the  cottonwood  and  walnut. 
But  the  mulched  ones  were  preserved,  and  came  out  in  Spring 
in  a  healthy,  growing  condition.  I  don't  believe  as  many  do, 
in  cultivating  all  the  land  which  you  are  going  to  plant  out  to 
a  forest,  for  it  requires  more  labor,  and  the  expense  is  greater. 
Another  objection  is,  that  where  trees  are  filled  with  weeds 
there  is  more  danger  from  the  ravages  of  prairie  fires,  which 
this  open  country  is  exposed  to  every  Fall  and  Spring,  destroy- 
ing for  the  State  vast  amounts  of  property,  and  retarding  her 
development  to  a  great  extent. 

LAYING  OFF    GROUND. 

I  have  ten  acres  laid  out  to  be  planted  to  trees  for  a  forest, 
from  which  I  expect  in  a  few  years  to  procure  my  fuel  and. 
poles  for  general  uses  necessary  on  a  farm. 


644 


BOONE  COUNTY,  NEBRASKA. 


Instead  of  plowing  this  whole  amount  up  and  cultivating 
to  trees,  I  lay  the  ground  off  into  strips,  twelve  feet  apart 
each  way,  with  the  strips  about  four  feet  wide.  This  width  I 
cultivate,  while  the  twelve  feet  between  the  strips  I  leave  un- 
touched, as  it  is  the  prairie  in  its  native  state.  I  herewith 
append  a  diagram,  by  which  my  plan  can  be  more  readily 
understood : 


4  feet 

wide. 

Culti 

v  a  t  e  d. 

12  feet 

wide. 

Not 

Cultlva 

ted. 

4  feet 

wide. 

Culti 

vatecl. 

Planting  trees  out  in  this  way,  I  have  not  the  work  to 
perform  in  hauling  straw  to  mulch  them  with,  as  though  com- 
pelled to  scatter  it  all  over  the  ten  acres.  By  my  plan  of 
planting  out  trees  I  have  only  the  four  feet  strips  to  cover, 
the  twelve  feet  between  being  as  stated  the  native  prairie,  cov- 
ered with  grasses.  In  this  way,  I  have  a  beautiful,  inviting  little 
forest  in  five  years'  time,  which  is  an  ornament  to  any  farm, 
and  something  that  I  may  ever  be  proud  of,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  deep  satisfaction  to  the  passer  by  to  see  how  easy  it  is  to 
raise  timber  in  Nebraska. 

In  presenting  the  advantages  of  this  State  another  thing 
is  to  be  considered.  A  farmer  here  has  no  stones  or  stumps 
to  contend  with,  but  rolling  prairie  or  bottom  lands,  that  lie 
-contingent  to  sparkling  streams,  abounding  in  fish  and  wild 
fowl.  Ye  sturdy  sons  of  toil,  on  these  broad,  shining  prairies 
of  Nebraska,  God  beckons  you  to  come  and  convert  the  acres 
of  wild  grasses  into  vast  fields  of  golden  ears  of  corn  and  yel- 
low waving  wheat,  nodding  their  heads  to  the  blue  vaulted 
heavens. 


A  FINE  COUNTRY.  645 

GEORGE   A.  HOBSON, 

BEAVER  CITY,   FURNAS  COUNTY. 

A  Fertile  Section  —  Limestone  Abundant  —  Mixed  Husbandry 
—  Orchard —  Cost  of  Crops  —  Method  of  Planting  —  Short- 
Horns  —  Hogs  —  Bees  —  Poultry. 

Furnas  county  contains  an  area  of  seven  hundred  and 
twenty  square  miles,  through  which  pass  from  west  to  east,  in 
a  parallel  direction,  three  water  courses,  with  their  fertile  val- 
leys ;  the  Republican  river  on  the  north  side,  the  Beaver  near 
the  center,  and  the  Sappo  on  the  south  side,  thus  affording 
abundant  water  power  for  manufacturing  purposes  and  giving 
the  county  a  greater  amount  of  timber  and  valley  land  than 
other  counties  in  the  State.  As  it  is  situated  on  the  southern 
border  of  the  State,  this  fact  gives  it  a  decided  advantage  in 
respect  of  climate.  It  possesses  as  fine  Magnesian  limestone 
for  building  purposes  as  can  be  found  anywhere.  The  com- 
mon limestone  is  also  abundant. 

THE  FARM. 

My  farm  is  beautifully  situated,  and  lies  one  and  a  half 
miles  west  and  half  a  mile  north  of  Beaver  City,  in  the  Beaver 
Valley,  near  the  center  of  the  county.  It  is  the  east  half  of 
section  twelve,  township  two,  range  twenty-three  west  of  the 
principal  meridian,  and  has  an  area  of  nearly  four  hundred 
acres.  The  northeast  quarter  I  have  devoted  to  timber  cul- 
ture at  present.  The  southeast  quarter  contains  the  home- 
stead, and  is  given  to  mixed  farming.  I  have  a  neat  frame 
dwelling  with  a  basement,  near  the  east  line,  and  about  the 
center  north  and  south.  Northeast  from  my  dwelling  is  my 
post  and  board  corral,  with  stabling  and  stock  shed  fourteen 
feet  wide,  and  one  hundred  and  forty  feet  long. 


FURNAS  COUNTY,  NEBRASKA. 


AN  ORCHARD. 

West  of  the  dwelling  are  five  acres  in  an  orchard  of 
peachgs,  apples,  plums,  cherries,  and  pears.  South  of  the 
house  plat  is  a  strip  set  in  small  fruit,  as  grapes,  currants, 
gooseberries,  blackberries,  raspberries,  and  strawberries.  The 
ground  lying  near  my  dwelling  is  set  in  evergreens,  such  as 
native  cedar,  and  silver-leaved  pine  from  the  Black  Hills  coun- 
try, which  are  in  good  condition.  A  wind-break  planted  to 
timber  extends  the  whole  length  of  the  orchard  and  house  plat 
on  the  north  side.  I  have  planted  black  walnut,  cottonwood, 
ash,  box  elder,  burr  oak,  hickory,  coffee  bean,  English  willow, 
and  honey  locust. 

The  soil  is  of  such  a  nature  that  it  is  easily  worked,  being 
prairie,  and  not  inclined  to  be  wet,  but  withstanding  extremes 
in  the  weather  as  well  as  any  soil  in  the  world. 

MEADOWS. 

Meadows  are  as  yet  Nature's  own,  and  yield  hay  of  superior 
quality.  All  I  have  to  do  is  to  take  the  mowing  machine  and 
hay-rake  about  the  first  of  September,  and  put  the  hay  in  the 
rick  in  sufficient  quantities  for  supplying  the  wants  of  my 
stock.  The  climate  has  a  peculiar  way  of  curing  grass  with- 
out cutting,  and  makes  good  grazing  all  Fall  and  Winter  for 
stock. 

GRAIN. 

The  cost  of  raising  grain  may  be  set  down  at  the  lowest 
figures,  except  where  it  might  grow  without  much  labor. 

I  sow  the  seed  broadcast  on  the  ground  early,  then  with  a 
good  stirring  plow  and  team  turn  it  under,  plowing  as  deep  as 
I  would  were  I  cultivating  corn.  This  puts  the  grain  in  nice 
drill  rows.  I  harrow  well,  and  the  work  of  seeding  is  done 
with  a  large  per  cent,  of  labor  saved,  and  an  increased  yield  of 
from  one-third  to  one-half  more  than  any  ordinary  shallow 
surface  cultivation.  It  is  easy  to  calculate  the  cost.  Putting 
the  grain  into  the  shock,  besides  the  board  of  team  and  hands, 


CORN  — POTATOES  — CATTLE  — HOGS.  647 

Is  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  per  acre,  and  with  favora- 
ble circumstances  the  land  yields  about  twenty  bushels  of 
wheat,  forty  bushels  of  barley,  thirty-five  to  fifty  bushels  of 
rye,  sixty  to  eighty  bushels  of  oats,  per  acre. 

CORN. 

For  corn,  I  plow  deep  in  Spring,  and  plant  in  check  rows, 
cultivating  three  times.  The  yield  is  about  fifty  bushels  per 
acre. 

POTATOES. 

I  plant  Irish  potatoes  on  new  ground,  well  prepared  by 
plowing  and  harrowing.  I  drop  in  drill  rows,  sixteen  inches 
apart  in  the  row,  and  the  rows  are  three  feet  apart.  I  culti- 
vate well  until  they  commence  blooming,  when  they  are  laid 
by,  and  their  yield  is  from  one  to  four  hundred  bushels  per 
acre ;  and  I  challenge  the  world  to  beat  me  in  good  melons, 
raised  on  sod,  without  cultivation. 

CATTLE. 

I  have  kept  until  recently  from  twenty-five  to  fifty  head 
of  cattle  on  the  farm.  I  breed  graded  to  full-blooded  Short- 
Horns,  and  think  them  the  best  paying  cattle  for  beef  and 
milk. 

HOGS. 

The  particular  breed  to  be  preferred  depends  upon  the 
wants  and  circumstances  of  the  farmer.  If,  for  instance,  he 
wishes  his  hogs  to  run  after  cattle  that  he  is  grain  feeding,  he 
naturally  would  want  a  breed  that  could  take  care  of  themselves ; 
and  for  such  purposes  I  know  of  no  better  than  the  improved 
Berkshires.  But  if  he  wishes  to  keep  his  hogs  in  confined 
pens,  and  his  conditions  are  such  that  he  can  not  let  them 
roam  at  large,  or  keep  them  in  extended  inclosures  (which 
is  the  case  with  us  in  this  new  country,  where  fencing 
material  is  scarce),  the  more  docile  the  breed  the  better,  so  that 
when  served  with  a  proper  allowance  of  wholesome  food  they 
will  lie  down  contented,  grow  fat  arid  mature  at  an  early  age. 
As  such  I  know  of  no  better  than  the  well-known  improved 


648  FURNAS  COUNTY,  NEBRASKA. 

Poland  China  breed,  which  is  my  choice.  I  know  of  no  such 
thing  as  disease  among  hogs  in  this  locality  yet,  and  on  this 
account  I  possibly  may  have  not  given  this  branch  of  hus- 
bandry sufficient  and  proper  care  in  order  to  realize  the  greatest 
results,  for  I  practice  only  common  care. 

HORSES. 

I  have  a  cross  of  the  Printer,  Double-head,  and  Messenger,, 
with  the  English  draft,  Prince  Coburg.  Thus  I  combine  size 
of  bone  and  body,  beauty  of  form,  full,  well  developed  mus- 
cular shape,  speed,  and  a  tractable  disposition,  which  can  not 
be  excelled  by  any  breed. 

BEES. 

Bees  are  not  natives  of  this  locality,  and  opportunity  for 
giving  practical  details  is  very  limited.  I  have  merely  experi- 
mented the  past  season,  yet  the  result  is  quite  flattering  thus 
far.  Without  estimating  the  increase  of  colonies,  I  realized  of 
surplus  honey  per  colony  thirty  pounds,  worth  twenty-five 
cents  per  pound.  There  is  no  doubt  but  this  business  can  be 
relied  upon,  with  a  certainty  of  success.  We  are  blessed  with 
the  needed  early  and  late  forage  for  the  honey  bee. 

FEUIT. 

Fruit  trees  are  not  old  enough  for  bearing  yet  (that  is,. 
cultivated  fruit).  The  native  fruits,  grapes  and  plums,  are 
abundant. 

POULTRY. 

The  poultry  on  my  farm  are  Brahma  chickens,  and  for  gen- 
eral use  and  profit  there  are  no  better  breeds.  I  let  them  roam 
at  large,  and  their  roosts  are  in  open  sheds.  They  seek  their 
own  food  about  the  farm,  having  access  to  millet  in  the  rick,  of 
which  every  farmer  should  have  plenty  for  his  poultry  at 
least.  I  find  they  are  easily  raised.  One  peck  of  seed  will  seed 
one  acre  of  ground,  from  which  three  to  four  tons  of  hay  and 
seed  may  be  harvested.  I  realized  that  amount  this  season. 
My  turkeys  are  a  cross  of  black  and  bronze  with  the  native 
wild  breed,  imparting  size,  hardiness,  and  richness  and  beauty 


POULTRY.  649 

of  plumage  of  a  changeable  cast.  They  have  an  excellent 
color  of  skin  when  dressed,  and  are  desirable  as  to  flesh.  I 
have  been  shipping  my  surplus  for  the  past  two  seasons,  and 
realized  out  of  last  year's  shipment  one  dollar  and  fifty-five 
cents  per  head,  in  the  Omaha  market.  I  allow  them  to  have 
their  liberty,  and  rear  their  own  young,  and  as  they  feed 
largely  upon  insects,  their  raising  is  not  very  expensive  where 
this  kind  of  food  exists  as  plentifully  as  it  does  here. 

My  land  I  have  already  stated  is  prairie,  of  a  dry  nature, 
easily  cultivated.  The  climate  is  mild,  and  this  country  is 
properly  called  the  "poor man's  country." 


WISCONSIN. 


WILLIAM  ROHN, 

JACKSON,  WASHINGTON  COUNTY. 

Mixed  Husbandry — Seventy  Acres  Under  Cultivation — Thorough 
Plowing — Rotation  of  Crops — Gross  Receipts  $2,432  82. 

My  farm  is  situated  in  Washington  County.  It  contains 
one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of  land.  Ninety  acres  are 
cleared.  Seventy  acres  under  cultivation.  Twenty  acres  in 
meadow,  which  have  been  used  for  pasture  for  thirty  years. 
The  land  was  originally  heavily  timbered  with  maple,  elm,  burr- 
oak  and  basswood.  Mostly  level,  a  part  of  it  gently  rolling, 
but  all  with  a  natural  drainage,  with  the  exception  of  one  ten- 
acre  lot,  which  is  drained  by  an  open  ditch.  The  tillable 
land  is  divided  in  to  seven  ten-acre  lots,  which  have  been  under 
cultivation  from  twenty-eight  to  thirty-four  years.  The  subsoil 
on  the  level  is  hard  pan,  on  the  rolling  mild  clay.  Great  atten- 
tion has  always  been  paid  to 

GOOD  PLOWING. 

I  plow  eight  inches  deep,  except  for  corn.  My  corn  land 
is  manured  and  plowed  only  five  inches  deep.  This  is  done 
to  keep  the  manure  nearer  the  surface,  and  to  give  the  young 
plants  all  the  benefit  of  the  manure  for  a  quick  start.  I  have 
adopted  the  following 

ROTATION  OF     CROPS, 

and  have  strictly  adhered  to  it  for  the  last  eighteen  years,  as 

650 


ROTATION  OP  CROPS.  651 

the  best  suited  to  my  farm,  and  by  which  the  yield  of  the  dif- 
ferent crops  has  been  increased  without  the  aid  of  artificial 
manures.  Plaster  has  been  spread  upon  my  clover  and  corn 
stubble  with  marked  results. 

My  seven  years  rotation  is  as  follows  : 

First  year,  clover  (first  crop  to  hay,  second  to  seed). 

Second  year,  clover  (first  crop  to  hay,  second  to  pasture). 

Third  year,  corn  (manured  with  18  two-horse  loads  of 
stable  manure  per  acre). 

Fourth  year,  spring  wheat. 

Fifth  year,  barley. 

Sixth  year,  winter  wheat  (top  dressed  with  six  loads  of 
well  rotted  manure  per  acre). 

Seventh  year,  oats  (seeded  down  with  clover  and  part 
timothy). 

The  yield  of  crops  of  the  year  1879  has  been  under  an 
average,  owing  to  chinch  bugs  damaging  spring  wheat,  and 
drought  injuring  barley  and  oats. 

THE  YIELD 

for  the  year  1879  is  copied  from  my  books,  and  the  prices  are 
those  received  at  the  railroad  station  on  the  31st  of  October. 

GRAIN    SOLD. 

Wheat,  424  bushels,  -    at  $1  20  $50880 

Barley,  385       "  "        72  277  20 

Oats,      396       "    -  -     "        32  126  72 

Corn,      454      "  "        45  204  30 

Buckwheat,  46"     -  -     "        50  2300 

Clover  seed,  38"  "    435  16530 

Potatoes,  75      "    -  -     "        40  30  00 

Mangels,  76      "  "        25  19  00 

Apples,  20  barrels,  -     "     1  50  30  00 

Hay,  32  tons,  -        "     8  00  256  00 

Wood,  20  cords,     -  -    "     2  00  40  00 

$1,680  32 


652  WASHINGTON  COUNTY,  WISCONSIN. 

STOCK  SOLD. 

Wool,  270  Ibs.,  at  $  34  $  91  80 

Lambs  sold,  15  head,  -  -  "  3  00  45  00 

Increase  of  flock,  22  lambs,  -  "  3  00  66  00 

Three  fat  cows  sold,  -  -  "  33  00  99  00 

Six  calves  sold,  "  3  00  .  18  00 

Increase  in  value  of  heifers  -  20  00 

"  "  «  "  colts  -  65  00 

Pork,  3,600  Ibs.,  -  -  "  4  00  144  00 

Butter  1,080  Ibs.,  -  "  12  129  60 

Milk,  1,460  quarts,  -  "  2  29  20 

Thirty  turkeys,  -  "  75  22  50 

Sixty  chickens,  -  -  "  20  12  00  742  10 

Total  amount  of  all  receipts,  $2,422  42 

EXPENDITURES. 

All  the  corn,  oats,  mangels,  and  hay,  has  been  fed 
out  on  the  farm,  amounting  to         -        $G06  42 
Wages  paid  out  for  all  labor,  including  board,  554  00 
Three  bbls.  of  salt,  at  $1  15      3  45 

Ten  bbls.  of  plaster,  -       at    1  15    11  50 

Seeds  of  all  kinds,         -  115  00 

Two  tons  of  bran,     -  -       at    9  00    18  00 

Threshing,    -  54  00 

Wear  and  tear  of  farming  implements  and 

repairs,       -  -     100  00 

Taxes,  44  00  1,506  37 

Deducting  the  expenditures  from  the  receipts 

leaves  a  profit  of  -  $916  05 

The  capital  invested  in  the  whole  farm  is  $8,400.     The 

percentage  of  the  profit  is  $11.14|  per  acre,  and  this  is  not  bad 

for  an  unfavorable  season.     All  the  farm  work  has  been  done 

by  hired  labor,  being  myself  unable  to  do  any. 

THE  AVERAGE  YIELD 

Of  crops  for  the  last  four  years,  per  acre,  has  been  as  follows : 


AVERAGE  YIELD -STOCK.  653 

Winter  wheat,  32  bushels  per  acre 

Spring  wheat,  27       "  " 

Barley,  46       " 

Oats,  55       "  " 

Corn,  53       " 

In  1879  winter  wheat  yielded  34  bushels  per  acre,  being 
above  the  average.  Spring  wheat  only  18  bushels,  barley  38£, 
oats  39£,  and*  corn  50. 

All  fields  intended  for  Spring  crops  are 

PLOWED   IN  THE  FALL, 

cultivated  with  a  Nishwitz  cultivator  twice  in  the  Spring, 
sown  with  a  broad-cast  seeder,  and  rolled  with  a  heavy  roller. 

THE   STOCK    UPON  THE  FARM 

is  as  follows :  ten  cows,  six  heifers  and  calves  of  improved 
natives.  They  are  stabled  from  the  1st  day  of  November  until 
the  15th  of  May.  They  are  fed  upon  clover-hay,  cornstalks, 
roots,  chaff,  wheat-bran,  oats,  and  barley  straw.  By  frequent 
change  of  diet,  they  are  healthy  and  in  good  condition. 

Most  of  the  milk  is  made  into  butter,  as  we  have  no  cheese 
factories  in  this  vicinity.  The  cows  are  raised  on  the  farm. 
Every  year  two  or  three  of  the  oldest  are  fattened  and  sold  to 
the  butcher. 

My  stock  are  always  healthy.  Are  comfortably  housed.  In 
the  coldest  days  of  winter  their  dung  does  not  freeze  under 
them. 

MY   STOCK   OF  SHEEP 

consists  of  sixty  Cotswolds,  originating  from  Merinos.  They 
will  shear  from  nine  to  ten  pounds  of  wool  of  fine  quality. 
Last  year  the  number  of  the  flock  was  reduced  to  thirty-six  by 
an  advantageous  sale,  but  is  now  up  to  the  full  number  of  sixty 
head.  The  sheep  are  fed  during  Winter  on  clover-hay,  straw, 
and  an  allowance  of  one  pint  of  corn  per  head  daily. 

FOUR  WORKING   HORSES, 

including  a  Clydesdale  stallion,  and  three  colts,  are  the  work- 
ing forces  of  the  farm.  My  colts  are  descended  from  Morgan 


654  ROCK  COUNTY,  WISCONSIN. 

mares,  bred  to  Clydesdale  stallions.  When  five  years  old  my 
horses  will  weigh  about  1,300  pounds,  and  are  well  suited  for 
plowing  in  our  heavy  soils.  Two  horses  of  this  breed  will  plow 
my  hardest  ground,  and  are  well  fitted  for  all  other  farm  work. 
My  barn  is  36x60  in  size,  with  underground  stables,  which 
are  ventilated  by  air  holes  through  the  wall  all  round  under 
the  ceiling. 


B.  S.  HOXIE, 

COOKSVILLE,     ROCK    COUNTY. 

A  Model  Dwelling  House. 

FARM   BUILDINGS. 

In  my  experience  as  a  builder  for  more  than  twent}*-five 
years,  it  is  pleasing  to  note  the  change  in  the  construction  of 
farm  buildings.  The  barn,  from  being  a  rough,  unpainted 
structure,  has  grown  to  be  something  which  has  required  some 
thought  in  its  plan  and  details,  as  well  as  beauty  in  its  adorn- 
ments. And  the  house  with  the  dreary,  four  square  walls, 
enclosing  kitchen,  "square  "  room,  buttery,  and  bedroom,  with 
its  low  chambers  for  sleeping  room,  and  cold  enough  in 
Winter  to  nearly  freeze  one's  life  out,  has  had  its  day,  and  yet 
there  is  room  for  improvement,  both  in  construction  and  orna- 
mentation. 

I  have  read  somewhere  that  one  of  the  ancient  law-givers 
of  Greece,  made  it  a  penal  offence  for  any  one  to  construct  a 
dwelling  which  should  be  void  of  beauty  and  harmony  in  its 
proportions.  If  this  law  had  been  in  force  until  our  day,  we 
should  not  see  so  many  barn-shaped,  ill-looking  structures, 
called  dwelling  houses. 

THE   HOME. 

The  house  is  the  most  important  feature  in  the  landscape, 
and  should  stand  on  the  most  commanding  site  of  the  farm, 
and  be  constructed  with  reference  to  other  buildings  which 


A  MODEL  DWELLING  HOUSE.  655 

cluster  around  it.  In  short,  the  house  must  be  our  Jiouse,  and 
the  style  of  architecture  should  help  adorn  the  landscape,  rather 
than  detract  from  it.  And  right  here  is  where  so  many  make 
a  fatal  mistake,  vainly  supposing  that  because  they  want  a 
given  number  of  rooms,  the  work  of  building  can  be  intrusted 
to  any  carpenter,  and  his  opinion  taken  as  to  which  is  most 
convenient,  or  that  it  is  cheapest  to  do  the  job  with  day  work- 
men, or  to  let  it  to  the  lowest  bidder.  This  last  leads  to  plac- 
ing it  too  low  for  a  competent  workman  to  make  living  wages, 
while  he  is  forced  to  bid  against  the  unskilled,  and  some- 
times, unprincipled.  The  skilled  workman  often  sees  where 
the  plan  could  be  improved,  as  the  work  progresses,  but  he 
dare  not  mention  it,  for  the  change  must  be  made  at  his  own 
expense,  or  perhaps  cause  some  unpleasant  feelings  when  a  bill 
of  extra  work  is  presented.  My  advice  is,  always  consult  a 
skilled  workman,  both  in  theory  and  practice,  and  if  you  are 
not  able  to  have  an  elevation  with  detailed  drawings,  you  can 
have  the  plan  well  defined  and  specifications  made  out  in  every 
particular.  Then,  if  you  choose,  intrust  it  to  your  home  car- 
penter, if  he  is  an  honest  man.  If  you  are  not  able  to  build  as 
extensively  as  you  want  in  the  first  instance,  have  your  plan 
fully  matured,  and  build  so  as  to  enlarge  with  additional  rooms, 
and  at  the  same  time  add  to  the  harmony  of  the  whole. 

THE  KITCHEN. 

The  kitchen,  being  the  most  important  part  of  a  house,  I 
would  start  out  with  that,  and  have  it  as  convenient  as  possible 
for  the  housewife  to  do  her  work  in.  In  this  have  a  good  large 
sink,  with  a  cupboard  under  the  same.  The  sink  proper  should 
be  three  inches  wider  than  the  cupboard,  for  comfort  in  stand- 
ing near  it.  Have  an  inclined  board  at  one  end,  so  that  all  the 
water  from  dishes  or  a  pail  may  drip  into  the  sink.  At  the 
other  end  have  your  cistern  pump.  Near  the  stove  have  a 
good  sideboard,  with  cupboard  under  the  same,  for  keeping 
tinware  and  other  cooking  utensils.  The  woodbox,  an  indis- 
pensable article,  place  in  the  partition  next  the  wood  shed,  so 
that  it  can  be  filled  from  that  side.  By  so  doing  you  will  save 


656  ROCK  COUNTY,  WISCONSIN. 

much  dirt  and  many  steps  for  the  tired  housewife.  If  possible, 
I  would  have  my  sink  on  this  same  side  of  the  room,  and  with 
a  small  slide  door  connect  it  with  sink  in  wood  shed,  which 
will  make  it  convenient  for  washing  hands,  when  many  work- 
men are  round. 

Again,  do  not  have  your  well  ten  or  fifteen  rods  from  the 
house,  and  down  hill  at  that,  to  save  a  few  feet  extra  digging. 
Let  your  pantry  open  from  the  dining  room,  and  if  it  is  a  large 
one,  from  the  kitchen  also,  or  have  a  sliding  door  over  the 
sink  or  sideboard,  as  may  be  best  arranged.  In  or  near  the 
pantry  or  one  corner  of  the  kitchen,  have  a  dumb  waiter, 
balanced  so  as  to  move  up  and  down  freely,  into  the  cellar,  and 
do  not  count  the  dollar  or  two  of  extra  cost,  but  count  what 
the  extra  steps  will  be  in  a  lifetime  without  it.  In  the  ceiling 
over  every  room  put  a  register,  so  as  to  warm  sleeping  rooms 
above.  This  will  also  serve  as  a  ventilator  both  in  Summer 
and  Winter. 

I  would  build  so  as  to  have  all  my  principal  rooms  con- 
nect with  folding  or  sliding-doors,  which  makes  it  sometimes 
convenient  for  company,  and  more  convenient  in  warming, 
either  with  furnace  in  basement,  or  with  one  stove.  Above  all 
else,  see  that  ample  space  is  made  for  closet  rooms.  I  would 
have  the  pantry  shelves  all  enclosed  with  light  doors,  and  plenty 
of  drawers,  large  and  small,  for  sugar,  salt,  spices,  tablecloths, 
napkins,  and  all  such  things  as  the  tidy  housekeeper  wishes  a 
place  for.  The  bathroom  must  not  be  overlooked,  and  if  it 
can  not  be  in  close  proximity  to  the  kitchen  pump,  a  branch 
pipe  can  be  put  into  the  cistern,  and  the  water  drawn  with 
another  pump  into  the  sink  in  the  bath  room.  I  am  aware 
that  no  one  plan  will  suit  different  persons,  and  so  I  have  given 
none,  but  simply  some  of  the  essential  things  for  a  convenient 
house,  leaving  the  plans  to  be  worked  out  as  the  particular 
taste  or  the  special  requirements  of  the  house  demands.  If 
any  hint  shall  be  acted  upon,  then  my  effort  to  benefit  some 
one  will  not  be  wholly  lost. 


STRAWBERRY  CULTURE.  657 

I.  N.  STONE, 

PORT   ATKINSON,    JEFFERSON  COUNT*. 

Strawberry    Culture  —  Soil  —  Transplanting  —  Cultivation  — 
Gathering  —  Marketing. 

PREPARING   SOIL. 

I  select  good  corn  land,  that  is  free  from  clover  and  sod. 
I  plow  deep  late  in  the  Fall,  or,  if  I  do  not  plow  in  the  Fall,  I 
plow  as  early  in  the  Spring  as  possible.  If  I  plow  in  the  Fall, 
I  either  plow  again  in  the  Spring  or  loosen  deep  with  a  culti- 
vator, then  harrow  well  and  plank  it.  I  mark  the  rows  three 
and  a  half  by  one  and  a  half  feet,  with  a  wheelbarrow  or  a 
marker  that  will  not  make  a  deep  mark,  or  guess  at  the  dis- 
tance in  the  row  while  transplanting.  For  garden  culture  I 
have  the  rows  two  and  a  half  by  one  and  half  feet. 

TRANSPLANTING. 

Early  Spring  is  the  best  time  to  transplant  strawberry 
plants,  north  of  latitude  forty-two  degrees.  If  I  set  in  the 
Fall,  I  must  wait  until  new  plants  get  well  rooted.  I  never 
set  any  but  new  plants,  and  I  have  roots  fresh  dug  or  well 
soaked  in  water.  I  put  one  or  two  hundred  into  an  old  pan, 
taking  care  to  keep  the  roots  straight ;  then  I  take  a  dibble, 
made  of  wood,  iron,  or  steel,  and  am  ready  to  commence  set- 
ting. I  keep  the  plants  by  my  side,  and  use  the  edge  ot  the 
dibble  to  brush  the  dry  dirt  from  the  place  where  the  plant  is 
to  be  set ;  then  I  thrust  it  into  the  earth  and  work  it  back  and 
forth  until  the  hole  is  large  enough  to  receive  the  roots  oi  the 
plant  when  spread  out  fan  shape.  I  use  the  point  of  the  dib- 
ble to  assist  me  in  getting  the  roots  into  the  hole  straight, 
holding  the  plant  close  to  the  side  of  the  hole  next  to  me,  and 
keeping  the  crown  even  with  the  top  of  the  hole,  I  place  the 
point  of  the  dibble  about  two  inches  in  front  of  the  plant,  and 
thrust  it  into  the  earth  with  the  point  inclined  toward  the  bot- 
42  • 


658  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  WISCONSIN. 

torn  of  the  root.  Then  I  press  toward  the  top  of  the  plant, 
pressing  the  dirt  close  to  the  whole  length  of  the  roots.  Now 
I  withdraw  the  dibble,  fill  the  hole,  and  the  plant  is  set.  If 
there  are  two  or  three  persons  to  help  transplant,  it  is  economy 
to  have  a  boy  to  drop  the  plants,  provided  the  roots  are  not 
allowed  to  get  dry. 

CULTIVATION. 

I  do  not  allow  the  plants  to  fruit  the  first  year,  if  they  are 
set  in  the  Spring.  I  use  a  cultivator  that  will  work  deep  and 
not  ridge  the  rows,  cultivating  and  hoeing  often.  I  never 
allow  the  weeds  to  get  a  start,  or  the  ground  to  get  hard  dur- 
ing the  whole  Summer,  but  work  cultivator  close  to  the  row, 
regardless  of  the  runners,  until  the  new  plants  begin  to  root, 
when  I  narrow  up  the  cultivator  during  the  remainder  of  the 
season,  so  that  the  row  of  plants  will  be  about  twenty  inches 
wide  at  the  end  of  the  growing  season. 

Plants  seldom  get  too  thick  the  first  year ;  if  they  do,  I 
thin  them  early  in  the  Fall.  In  "garden  culture,  where  no  cul- 
tivator is  used,  I  hoe  deep,  not,  however,  close  to  the  roots.  I 
make  use  of  a  spading-fovk  to  good  advantage  just  before  I  set 
new  plants.  About  the  time  the  ground  freezes  up  I  cover  the 
whole  surface  of  the  bed  with  straw,  leaves,  or  marsh  hay, 
just  thick  enough  to  hide  the  plants.  In  the  Spring,  as  soon 
as  it  is  warm  enough  to  start  vegetation,  I  stir  the  mulching 
and  move  enough  off  from  the  row,  putting  it  between  the 
rows,  to  allow  the  plants  to  grow  up  through,  and  have  a  good 
healthy  color.  If  it  is  necessary  to  cultivate  the  bed  in  the 
Spring,  I  remove  the  mulching  from  one  row,  cultivate  it,  then 
move  the  mulching  from  the  next  into  it,  cultivate,  and  so  on 
through  the  bed.  I  do  this  just  before  the  blossoming  time. 
I  pull  large  weeds,  if  there  are  any,  until  fruit  is  ripe. 

If  I  desire  to  keep  the  bed  another  year,  I  find  it  very 
important  to  prepare  it  immediately  after  the  crop  is  harvested, 
in  the  following  manner :  I  remove  the  mulching,  if  it  is  not 
fine  enough  to  work  into  the  soil,  cut  the  rows  down  so  that 
they  will  be  about  ten  inches  wide,  by  using  a  horse  and  small, 
sharp  steel  plow,  throwing  the  furrow  from  the  row.  This 


GATHERING  THE  FRUIT.  G59 

leaves  a  ridge  between  the  rows,  which  I  can  level  by  using  an 
ordinary  cultivator.  Instead  of  taking  a  narrow  strip  from 
each  side  of  the  row,  I  take  all  from  one  side.  By  this  plan 
nearly  all  of  the  plants  left  in  the  row  are  only  one  year  old. 
I  cultivate  well  until  the  new  plants  are  ready  to  root,  then  I 
allow  them  to  fill  the  space  between  the  rows,  not  too  thick, 
however.  In  the  Spring  I  cut  out  the  old  row,  if  there  are 
enough  new  plants  for  a  crop,  and  use  the  place  occupied  by 
it  for  the  pickers  to  pass  through  while  picking.  Should  the 
row  left  to  renew  the  bed  fail  to  furnish  enough  new  plants  for 
a  crop  of  fruit,  I  save  it  with  a  strip  of  the  new  plants  on  each 
side. 

Unless  the  soil  is  very  fertile,  fine  manure,  free  from  grass 
seed,  should  be  scattered  on  the  bed  freely  after  it  has  been 
well  cultivated  the  first  time,  or  early  in  the  Fall.  For  gar- 
den culture  I  use  the  same  plan  as  for  the  field,  except  to  thin 
the  plants.  I  use  a  hoe  and  a  spading-fork  to  loosen  the  soil. 

GATHERING  THE   FRUIT. 

It  is  very  important  to  have  a  good  supply  of  packages 
made  up  ready  for  use  before  the  berries  are  ripe.  I  divide  the 
beds  so  as  to  pick  half  every  day,  except  Saturdays,  when  I 
pick  all  that  are  ripe,  in  order  to  get  over  Sunday  without 
having  over-ripe  berries  for  Monday.  One  person  who  has 
had  experience,  with  a  boy  to  assist  him,  can  attend  to  fifteen 
to  twenty  pickers  and  case  the  berries,  by  adopting  the  follow- 
ing plan :  Take  cases  filled  with  empty  boxes  into  the  field, 
also  four  to  six  hand-racks,  made  so  that  about  eight  quart 
boxes  can  be  carried  in  each.  Give  each  picker  a  row  and  a 
box,  with  instructions  to  pick  the  berries  by  pinching  off  the 
stem  of  the  berry,  about  one-third  of  an  inch  from  the  hull, 
using  great  care  not  to  loosen  the  hull  or  bruise  the  berry,  and 
giving  orders  that  they  never  put  over-ripe  or  too  green  ber- 
ries in  the  box.  As  soon  as  the  pickers  are  all  at  work,  give 
the  one  that  is  to  assist  two  hand-racks  filled  with  empty 
boxes,  and  tickets  that  can  not  be  duplicated  by  the  pickers. 
Then  when  they  get  their  boxes  full  he  can  take  the  full  box, 


£60  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  WISCONSIN, 

giving  an  empty  one,  and  a  ticket.  This  enables  the  pickers  to 
keep  their  places,  and  saves  a  great  deal  of  careless  moving 
around  on  the  bed.  The  overseer  should  pass  around  fre- 
quently among  the  pickers  and  see  that  they  are  doing  their 
work  right,  examining  their  partly  filled  boxes  often,  and  look- 
ing after  their  rows  to  see  if  picked  clean.  If  the  pickers  are 
getting  scattered  so  as  to  make  it  inconvenient  to  wait  upon 
them,  those  whose  rows  are  ahead  should  be  placed  on  the  row 
or  rows  that  are  behind  —  right  opposite  where  they  are  —  and 
work  back  until  they  meet,  then  each  should  take  his  own  row 
again.  The  overseer  will  find  time  to  case  the  berries  ready 
for  market,  and  have  them  put  in  a  cool  place  as  soon  as  full 
cases  are  gathered.  When  through  picking  for  the  day,  count 
the  tickets  of  each  picker,  and  place  the  number,  with  the 
price  paid  per  quart  for  picking,  in  pickers'  account-book,  to 
his  credit. 

MARKETING. 

If  berries  are  picked  in  the  middle  of  the  day  they  should 
be  cooled  through  before  forwarding,  if  possible,  by  placing 
them  in  a  cool,  dry  cellar.  They  should  be  carried  on  springs, 
and  handled  with  care,  and  forwarded  to  fruit  dealers  that  have 
a  good  retail  trade,  and  who  will  not  rush  off  a  large  quantity 
at  a  low  price,  just  for  the  sake  of  selling  at  a  good  profit  a  lot 
of  cans  or  some  other  stock  which  they  may  happen  to  have. 
I  find  it  the  fairer  way,  both  for  the  grower  and  dealer,  to  send 
the  berries  regularly  through  the  season,  giving  the  dealer 
power  to  fix  the  price  from  day  to  day,  with  the  understanding 
that  he  is  to  sell  at  the  top  of  the  market  in  his  locality,  and 
that  he  is  to  receive  a-  certain  per  cent,  on  the  selling  price. 
He  must  also  send  weekly  statements  of  his  sales.  If  the 
market  should  get  overstocked  at  any  time  at  some  of  the 
places  shipped  to,  most  dealers  will  gladly  release  a  grower  for 
a  few  days  on  a  part  or  the  whole  of  the  regular  shipment  if 
wished,  and  the  surplus  can  be  sent  to  those  that  are  not  over- 
stocked. A  home  market  should  not  be  overlooked,  and  the 
grower  should  use  his  own  judgment  some,  as  he  will  know 
the  condition  of  the  market. 


CLEARING  A  FARM.  661 

J.  W.  WOOD, 

BARABOO,    SATJK  COUNTY. 

Clearing  a  Farm  in  the   Woods  —  Soil  —  Cutting  —  Burning. 

Skillet  Creek  farm  lies  about  two  miles  southwest  from 
Baraboo,  in  Sauk  county,  Wisconsin,  in  the  midst  of  a  heavily 
timbered  region,  consisting  of  oak,  maple,  elm,  basswood, 
hickory,  and  butternut,  with  all  their  common  varieties,  and 
this  is  thickly  set  with  the  Ordinary  brushwood  of  such  regions. 

Every  foot  of  its  tillable  land  has  been  hewn  out  of  these 
heavy  forests,  entailing  a  vast  amount  of  labor  in  the  past,  and 
with  no  prospect  of  its  speedy  abatement.  The  farm  contains 
two  hundred  and  forty  acres,  of  which  about  one-half  is  already 
cleared  and  is  mostly  in  crops.  A  small  creek,  which  rises  in 
the  Baraboo  bluffs,  to  the  west  of  Devil's  lake,  runs  through 
it,  affording  excellent  water  privileges  for  stock,  and  falling 
over  rocky  ledges  for  about  twenty-five  feet,  forms  the  Skillet 
creek  falls ;  a  beautiful  spot,  attracting  the  attention  of  tour- 
ists, and  which  is  made  the  scene  of  many  picnic  and  other 
festivities. 

The  underlying  rock  is  the  Potsdam  sandstone  of  the 
lower  silurian  formation.  It  is  heavily  covered  with  drift,  but 
outcrops  at  the  falls,  and  in  neighboring  localities,  exhibiting 
tho  characteristic  fossils  of  that  formation. 

An  elevated  ridge  on  the  south  side  of  the  farm  is  capped 
with  the  lower  magnesian  limestone,  which  can  be  burnt  into 
a  strong,  gray  quicklime. 

A  slight  dam  across  the  creek,  three  feet  in  hight,  gives; 
a  head  which  irrigates  about  ten  acres  of  the  farm.  This  is. 
devoted  to  gardening  and  small  fruit. 

SOIL. 

The  soil  of  these  timbered  lands,  is  found  to  .be  a  rich 
clay  loam,  extremely  well  adapted  to  general  farming  and 


662  SAUK  COUNTY,  WISCONSIN. 

especially  to  grass,  but  needing  a  short  rotation  in  crops,  re- 
turning frequently  to  clover  in  order  to  keep  the  soil  friable 
and  in  good  condition  for  other  crops.  The  rotation  practiced, 
is  clover,  corn  and  small  grain,  re-seeding  to  clover.  Plaster 
is  found  to  be  of  great  value  when  applied  to  the  clover. 

Root  crops  are  raised  to  quite  an  extent,  and  two  root 
cellars,  one  of  them  under  the  granary,  and  connected  with  the 
hog  pens,  holding  about  fifteen  hundred  bushels,  and  another, 
fourteen  feet  wide  in  the  clear,  and  one  hundred  and  two  feet 
long,  arched  with  stone,  and  covered  with  four  feet  of  dirt, 
afford  ample  storage  for  these  roots,  and  for  the  products  of  the 
market  garden,  to  which  a  portion  of  the  farm  is  devoted. 

CLEARING. 

The  work  of  clearing  off  timber  I  generally  perform  in  the 
Winter.  It  might  be  surer  death  to  the  stumps  if  it  could  be 
done  while  the  trees  are  in  full  leaf,  but  my  Summers  are  oc- 
cupied with  other  work.  Choppers  can  be  more  easily  hired  in 
the  Winter,  as  farm  work  is  mostly  laid  aside,  and  then  again, 
we  need  the  snow  for  removing  our  logs  and  other  heavy  pro- 
ducts. 

I  prepare  for  my  Winter's  work  as  early  in  the  Fall  as 
possible,  and  in  the  first  place  carefully  go  over  the  ground, 
cutting  the  under  brush  and  piling  it  into  compact  heaps,  pick- 
ing up  the  fallen  stuff  as  far  as  I  conveniently  can.  A  few 
rotten  chunks  thrown  in  with  the  brush  will,  when  dried  out, 
greatly  facilitate  the  setting  of  fires.  I  next  cut  out  all  of  the 
small  timber  which  I  find  suitable  for  rails.  I  either  remove 
them  or  place  them  in  solid  piles,  so  that  a  tree  accidentally 
falling  across  will  not  break  them.  The  stumps  of  all  of 
this  small  timber  are  cut  so  low  that  a  sled  can  readily  pass 
over  them  while  doing  the  heavier  work. 

IN  CUTTING   TIMBER, 

a  good  woodsman  is  careful  in  felling  his  trees  to  lay  them 
where  they  can  be  readily  worked  up,  without  interfering  with 
other  trees,  either  by  lodging  in  their  branches  or  crushing 


BURNING  —  SEEDING  NEW  LAND.  663 

the  smaller  ones  in  their  fall.  I  haul  my  logs  to  the  neighbor- 
ing mills,  to  be  cut  into  lumber  for  my  own  use,  or  sell  them 
to  the  mill  owners.  Good  oak  logs,  butt  cuts,  will  bring  about 
seven  dollars  per  thousand,  measured  by  Scribner's  rule.  Bass- 
wood  and  maple,  suitable  for  furniture,  bring  about  six  dollars ; 
dry  maple  wood  is  worth  three  dollars  and  fifty  cents  per  cord  ; 
oak,  two  dollars  and  seventy-five  cents,  and  basswood,  one 
dollar  and  fifty  cents. 

The  remaining  timber  I  cut  into  cordwood.  I  use  a  horse 
drag  saw,  with  which  I  cut  such  sound  chunks  as  are  not  fit  to 
saw  for  logs,  and  are  too  tough  or  knotty  to  split  if  cut  four 
feet  long,  into  sixteen  inch  lengths,  for  stove  wood. 

BURNING. 

When  the  piece  is  well  chopped  over,  I  prepare  for  a  burn. 
I  roll  out  any  old  stuff  not  piled,  from  its  bed  of  leaves,  loosen 
up  the  rotten  wood,  so  that  it  may  dry  thoroughly,  close  up 
the  brush  heaps  in  good  shape,  and  wait  my  time.  In  May  or 
June,  a  very  dry  spell,  attended  with  high  winds  often  occurs. 
I  provide  barrels  of  water  located  near  objects  which  I  wish 
to  protect.  With  the  utmost  care  I  often  burn  up  things  which 
I  do  not  wish  to.  When  all  is  ready,  and  we  have  a  dry  time, 
with  a  high  wind  in  the  right  direction  for  safety,  I  get  some 
help,  and  apply  the  match.  The  dry  leaves  will  generally  carry 
the  fire  from  pile  to  pile,  but  I  watch  it,  and  supply  all  defi- 
ciencies. 

HOW   TO   SEED   THE   NEW   LAND. 

The  best  possible  use  to  make  of  this  new  land  is  to  seed 
it  to  timothy  grass,  and  pasture  it  closely  until  the  sprouts  are 
all  killed.  Iii  close  woods,  where  grass  has  not  grown,  this 
can  be  done  by  sowing  in  the  Fall  to  wheat  and  seeding.  This 
plan  often  gives  me  a  good  crop  of  grain,  and  leaves  every 
thing  in  good  shape.  Seeding  can  be  done  in  the  Spring,  by 
sowing  with  oats.  It  is  unfortunate  to  have  to  plow  such 
land.  In  oak  timber  I  can  do  it  more  readily  than  in  other 
kinds,  for  the  roots  run  deeper  ;  but  it  is  very  embarrassing  to 
have  the  plow  catching  among  the  green,  sharp  roots. 


664  SAUK  COUNTY,  WISCONSIN. 

STUMPING. 

If  the  sprouts  from  the  stumps  can  not  be  killed  by  pas- 
turing, they  must  be  cut  off  with  an  axe  ;  not  simply  cut  off, 
but  split  away  from  the  stumps,  taking  off  all  the  bark  that 
will  go  with  them.  I  can  not  emphasize  too  strongly  the 
importance  of  closely  pasturing  such  land.  The  stumps  ought 
all  to  be  killed  in  two  years'  time.  The  ground  will  then  be 
ready  for  the  plow  sooner  than  one  would  suppose.  I  never 
wait  to  get  rid  of  all  the  stumps  before  using  the  reaper  and 
mower,  provided  the  bottom  is  good,  and  none  but  good  large 
ones  are  left,  which  show  plainly  in  the  grass  or  grain.  An 
extra  man  is  set  to  work  with  the  machine,  who  will  mow  or 
cradle  around  the  stumps,  so  that  there  is  but  little  waste  or 
hindrance  to  the  machine.  We  should  remove  the  stumps 
from  fields  as  rapidly  as  possible.  They  form  hiding  places  for 
vermin,  and  become  centers  of  dispersion  for  many  kinds  of 
foul  seed.  They  interfere  with  all  the  operations  of  farming. 
Never  wait  until  they  are  entirely  rotted  out.  Their  period 
may  be  hastened  in  many  ways. 

PULLING   THEM   OUT. 

Machines  are  made  that  are  very  powerful  and  effective  in 
pulling  grubs  and  stumps,  but  it  takes  too  much  time  to  handle 
them,  and  they  often  pull  up  an  amount  of  dirt  and  sod  which 
it  is  difficult  to  manage.  There  is  nothing  so  profitable  as  to 
let  a  stump  alone  until  its  hold  of  the  earth  is  greatly  weak- 
ened by  the  rotting  of  its  smaller  roots.  A  stump  which  will 
jar  in  its  roots  by  a  heavy  blow  from  an  axe  can  generally  be 
removed  with  but  little  labor.  A  strong  team  will  often  tip  it 
over.  Where  the  top  breaks  off,  the  remaining  portion  can 
often  be  split  through  the  center  and  one  half  turned  out  by 
prying  over  the  other  half.  A  beetle  and  wedge  can  be  used 
to  split  the  more  refractory.  A  twelve-foot  lever  planted  under 
some  projecting  root  will  some  times  start  a  very  formidable 
stump,  and  help  a  team  in  tipping  it  over.  A  few  blows  from 
a  heavy  sledge  will  often  knock  a  stump  all  to  pieces. 

The  best  stump  puller  I  have  ever  used  is  made  by  stand- 


PULLING  OUT  — BURNING.  665 

ing  a  strong  lever,  ten  feet  long,  upright  by  the  stump,  and 
wrapping  the  stump  with  a  chain.  Another  chain  passes  from 
the  top  of  the  lever  to  the  axle  of  a  wagon  or  cart,  which  is 
loaded  with  stone  enough  to  keep  it  from  lifting.  The  team 
then  draws,  and  is  assisted,  if  necessary,  by  digging,  prying, 
and  cutting  off  roots.  It  is  astonishing  what  stumps  can  be 
taken  out  in  this  way.  A  man  soon  learns  to  tell  by  striking  a 
stump  whether  it  is  worth  while  to  attempt  it  or  not.  A 
stump  which  would  require  more  than  ten  minutes  to  extract, 
had  better  be  left  until  the  next  occasion.  The  time  to  work 
at  them  is  either  early  in  the  Spring  or  late  in  the  Fall,  when 
tho  ground  is  wet.  It  needs  two  or  three  persons  to  work  to 
advantage.  We  often  see  a  wandering  kind  of  an  article  in 
the  papers  saying  that  saltpetre  or  kerosene  can  be  used  to 
advantage  in  burning  them  out.  I  have  tried  them,  in  both 
green  stumps  and  dry,  without  the  least  perceptible  benefit. 

BURNING    THEM    OUT. 

When  stumps  get  old  and  rotten,' there  often  comes  a  dry 
time  in  which  they  can  be  burned  to  advantage.  Such  stumps 
as  can  be  pried  out  can  be  used  in  burning  others.  I  burned  a 
hundred  stumps  from  an  acre  of  land  by  the  use  of  sheet-iron 
stoves.  I  made  four  or  five  of  them,  of  different  sizes,  out  of 
some  old  stovepipe,  joining  two  lengths  for  the  hight,  and 
giving  them  a  conical  form  to  fit  the  stump.  A  flattened  joint 
formed  the  top,  from  the  center  of  which  arose  a  joint  of  six- 
inch  pipe,  to  form  a  draught.  The  old  rubbish  which  abounds 
in  a  timbered  country,  with  loose  and  broken  stumps,  formed 
the  fuel.  I  would  start  a  fire  by  the  side  of  a  stump,  place 
over  it  a  suitable  sized  stove,  put  the  cover  on  top,  with  a  sod 
to  hold  it  in  case  the  wind  was  blowing,  leave  sufficient  space 
beneath  to  form  a  draught,  and  go  off  about  other  business. 
Some  stumps  would  be  consumed  by  a  single  fire,  others  would 
require  more  fire,  just  like  a  green  chunk  in  any  other  stove.  I 
only  visited  the  fires  once  a  day  to  set  them  going,  and,  while 
the  process  was  slow,  it  was  effectual  and  cheap. 

Basswood  stumps  are  the  most  refractory,  and  unless  very 


666  WINNEBAGO  COUNTY,  WISCONSIN. 

rotten  and  dry,  can  not  be  burned  out.  Maple  and  elm  burns 
the  most  readily,  while  oak  seldom  burns  out  with  a  single  fire. 
When  a  stump  was  burned  to  the  ground  I  could  remove  the 
stove,  and  lay  a  chunk  on  the  embers,  which  would  retain  the 
fire  and  eat  its  way  down  to  the  dirt.  In  this  way  I  made  all 
my  rubbish  useful.  In  respect  to  dynamite,  I  have  corre- 
sponded with  the  agents  for  its  sale  until  I  have  learned  that  it 
is  too  expensive  to  be  used  with  us.  There  are  places  where  it 
may  pay.  It  might  be  just  the  thing  to  hoist  some  of  the  more 
refractory  fellows,  but  we  always  have  time  as  an  element  in 
our  favor;  all  that  we  need  is  patience.  I  have  indicated 
many  ways  in  which  their  periods  may  be  shortened.  Where 
their  number  is  reduced  to  three  or  four  solid  old  oaks  to  the 
acre,  I  begin  to  think  of  dynamite,  but  it  is  not  probable  that 
I  shall  ever  use  it.  I  fear  it  might  hoist  the  wrong  object. 


OSHKOSH,  WINNEBAGO  COUNTY. 

Spring  Wheat  —  Drainage  —  Fertilizers  —  Short-Horns  — Sheep. 

My  farm  consists  of  eight  hundred  and  forty  acres,  north 
of  Oshkosh,  Wisconsin,  and  between  Lake  Winnebago  on  the 
east  and  Fox  river  on  the  west,  both  less  than  a  mile  distant 
from  the  farm.  When  I  settled  on  the  farm  it  was  about  one- 
half  prairie  and  one-half  burr  oak  openings,  only  slightly 
rolling,  and  underlaid  with  red  clay  containing  lime  gravel. 
The  whole  surrounding  country  gives  evidence  of  drift  forma- 
tion. The  red  clay,  with  a  small  mixture  of  lime  gravel,  often 
crops  out  in  the  openings,  while  on  much  of  the  prairie  it  can 
be  reached  with  deep  plowing.  It  is  rich  in  the  elements  to 
grow  wheat  and  clover,  and  the  close  texture  of  the  subsoil 
prevents  leaching. 

DRAINAGE. 

But  the  close  subsoil,  and  only  slightly  rolling  surface, 


SPRING  WHEAT  — CLOVER.  (J67 

renders  the  land  too  wet  in  a  wet  season  for  grain,  without 
underdraining.  Hence  the  necessity  for  the  system  which  I 
adopted,  and  have  steadily  pursued  for  the  last  fifteen  years,  of 
underdraining  the  farm  until  it  has  now  about  nine  miles  of 
underdrains.  At  first  I  used  white  pine  fence-boards,  free  of 
sap  and  rot,  for  drains,  and  some  that  have  been  made  fifteen 
years  are  yet  sound  and  doing  good  service.  But  since  the 
manufacture  of  drain  tile,  tile  only  have  been  used.  For  all 
drains,  except  the  largest  main  drains,  I  employ  two  by  two 
and  a  half  or  three  inch  tile,  and  lay  them  at  an  average  depth 
of  two  and  a  half  feet,  at  an  average  cost  of  about  forty  cents 
per  rod. 

Those  portions  of  my  farm  on  which  crops  would  fail  in  a 
wet  season  have  now  been  made  as  productive  as  the  best. 
Not  only  does  the  drained  land  stand  wet  well,  but  it  also 
stands  drouth,  and  the  soil  is  more  loose  and  friable,  of  fine 
tilth,  and  much  warmer  than  undrained  soils. 

SPRING  WHEAT. 

Spring  wheat  is  a  leading  grain  crop,  and  on  one  hundred 
and  fifty  acres  sown  yearly,  I  have  had  an  average  yield  for 
twenty  years  of  twenty-two  and  one-eighth  bushels  per  acre. 
The  lowest  yield  was  in  1864,  when  the  drouth  and  chinch 
bugs  cut  the  grain  down  to  fourteen  bushels  per  acre  for  that 
year.  The  highest  amount  raised  was  in  1865,  when  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  acres  averaged  thirty  bushels  per  acre. 

CORN. 

All  the  corn  I  raise  I  feed  to  stock  on  the  farm,  and  in 
good  seasons  my  average  is  from  fifty  to  sixty  bushels  per  acre 

of  corn. 

OATS. 

Oats  I  find  more  exhausting  than  wheat,  and  pay  less  per 
acre  than  wheat.  I  only  raise  them  for  home  use. 

CLOVER. 

Clover  and  manure  are  my  dependence  for  preserving  the 
fertility  of  the  land.  I  sow  four  quarts  of  clover  seed  and  four 


668  WINNEBAGO   COUNTY,  WISCONSIN. 

quarts  of  timothy  seed  with  Spring  wheat,  for  meadow  or  pas- 
ture, and  three  quarts  of  clover  seed  only  when  the  land  is  to 
be  sown  in  wheat  again,  and  the  clover  plowed  in,  which  makes 
a  cheap  fertilizer. 

Two  and  a  half  tons  of  hay  are  my  average  for  the  first 
crop,  though  three '  tons  are  sometimes  grown.  The  second 
crop  of  the  first  season  in  meadow,  I  usually  save  for  clover 
seed. 

FERTILIZERS. 

Land  plaster,  or  gypsum,  is  sown  on  all  clover  after  the 
first  year,  but  the  first  year's  crop  will  not  bear  it,  as  the  clover 
will  grow  too  rank.  Clay  land  shows  the  most  marked  effect 
of  the  plaster,  and  its  value  applied  to  grain  is  small  as  com- 
pared to  clover.  One  hundred  pounds  of  plaster  per  acre 
applied  the  last  of  April,  I  think,  is  ample,  and  there  is  no  fear 
of  exhausting  the  land  when  the  crop  is  fed  to  stock  on  the 
farm. 

ROTATION    OF    CROPS. 

For  a  seven  years'  rotation,  I  sow  land  with  clover,  and 
timothy  three  years,  then  manure  at  the  rate  of  sixteen  large 
loads  of  rich  manure  per  acre,  and  plant  in  corn  one  year.  A 
larger  quantity  of  manure  will  cause  the  wheat  to  lodge  badly, 
and  not  fill.  I  then  take  three  crops  of  wheat  and  seed  the 
land  to  grass.  The  rotation  I  vary,  sometimes,  as  follows: 

Three  years  are  given  to  clover,  then  one  year  to  wheat, 
then  I  manure  and  plant  one  year  in  corn ;  next  two  years  in 
wheat,  and  then  seed  it  down.  For  soil  not  in  a  high  state  of 
richness,  I  adopt  a  five  years'  rotation  ;  two  in  clover,  one  in 
corn,  and  two  in  wheat.  This  rotation  is  less  exhausting  to 
the  land,  and  proves  more  beneficial  to  most  soils.  When  any 
lean  spots  appear  in  a  field,  I  dress  them  with  manure  again 
during  the  rotation. 

The  heavy  cropping  of  the  land  is  more  than  counterbal- 
anced by  the  large  amount  of  manure  made,  and  the  use  of 
clover  as  a  fertilizer,  and  underdraining,  so  there  is  a  steady 
increase  of  productiveness. 

I  look  to  the  soil  to  compensate  for  the  exhaustion  of  the 


STOCK  — SHEEP  — FEEDING.  669 

crops.  Nor  do  I  believe  that  any  system  can  long  be  followed 
profitably  that  does  not  by  rotation,  somewhere  return  to  the 
soil  the  elements  of  plant  growth  removed  in  the  crops.  But 
for  this  purpose  the  air  and  subsoil  may  be  drawn  on  for  a  part 
of  the  supply,  if  an  intelligent  course  be  pursued. 

STOCK. 

I  have  on  the  farm  sixty  head  of  fine  thorough-bred  Short- 
Horns,  for  breeding  purposes,  though  most  of  them  are  excel- 
lent milkers,  and  mature  early,  making  superior  beef.  My 
experience  leads  me  to  decide  in  favor  of  the  Short-Horn  as 
the  average  farmer's  cattle  to  fill  the  whole  bill  on  the  farm. 
About  sixty  high  grade  Short-Horns  are  also  kept  for  milk  and 

beef. 

SHEEP. 

I  have  six  to  eight  hundred  sheep,  Merinos,  and  a  cross  of 
the  Merino  and  Cotswold.  The  latter  commands  the  highest 
price  for  fine  combing  wool.  Before  my  Short-Horns  were  put 
on  the  farm,  I  only  kept  about  two  sheep  to  the  acre. 

WHAT  MAKES   THE  FARM   PRODUCTIVE. 

Sheep,  cattle,  clover,  and  underdraining  have  all  combined 
to  produce  the  result  given,  for  so  long  a  time,  with  such  uni- 
form good  success.  Lands  which  in  a  wet  season  were  forbid- 
ding and  unprofitable,  I  have  now  made  inviting,  productive, 
and  profitable. 

FEEDING. 

I  purchase  wheat  bran  and  feed  to  stock.  The  phosphates 
of  the  wheat,  which  are  almost  entirely  contained  in  the  bran, 
are  thus  returned  to  the  farm  and  stock.  I  feed  some  oil  cake 
with  good  results.  It  not  only  lays  on  flesh  fast,  and  makes  a 
rich  manure,  but  it  promotes  the  good  digestion  of  the  stock, 
and  enables  them  to  utilize  the  nutriment  in  their  food  to  the 
best  advantage.  The  full  benefit  of  oil  cake  is  but  little 
understood  by  most  American  farmers,  and  our  English  breth- 
ren are  allowed  to  obtain  most  of  this  product  from  America, 
to  the  detriment  of  our  own  agriculture,  and  stock  growing 
and  feeding.  It  is  surprising  to  see  how  much  more  stock  the 


670  WINNEBAGO   COUNTY,  WISCONSIN. 

farm  can  carry  now  than  at  first,  and  yet  keep  up  the  number 
of  acres  of  grain. 

SUPPLYING  WATER. 

I  raise  water  for  the  stock  by  a  wind-mill,  and  store  it  in 
a  large  tank,  over  which  there  is  a  house  to  protect  it  from 
freezing.  In  this  house,  by  the  side  of  the  large  tank,  is  a 
small  tank  on  a  level  with  the  many  watering  troughs  in  and 
about  the  barns,  which  I  keep  for  the  use  of  the  stock. 

In  the  small  tank  floats  a  hollow  copper  ball,  which  draws 
water  as  the  stock  drink,  and  the  connecting  pipes  from  the 
small  tank  to  the  watering  troughs  are  laid  below  frost,  so  there 
is  a  constant  supply  of  water  at  all  times.  I  think  I  have  a 
complete  system  of  watering  stock  from  wells. 

MY  BARN. 

My  barn  has  a  frontage  of  two  hundred  and  sixty-two 
feet,  and  with  the  addition  of  the  three  wings  it  has  a  length 
of  six  hundred  and  fourteen  feet,  and  contains  two  hundred 
and  eighty  thousand  feet  of  pine  lumber.  I  have  stabling  for 
one  thousand  sheep,  one  hundred  and  thirty  head  of  cattle  and 
horses,  and  hay  to  Winter  them  on,  with  barn  room  for  four 
thousand  bushels  of  unthreshed  grain.  The  cold  Winters 
make  stabling  desirable  for  stock,  while  the  cheap  lumber  of 
this  locality  pays  better  in  barns  than  wet  stacks  of  hay  and 
grain. 

MY  HOUSE. 

My  dwelling  house  is  commodious,  built  in  the  most 
approved  manner,  and  yet  at  a  moderate  cost.  The  main  road 
leading  north  from  the  city  passes  through  the  center  of  my 
farm,  and  is  one  of  the  finest  graveled  roads  in  the  West.  It 
is  bordered  on  each  side  with  rows  of  maple  trees,  and  is  one 
of  the  finest  drives  to  be  found  in  any  rural  district. 


HANDLING  APPLES.  671 

B.  B.  OLDS, 

CLINTON,  ROCK   COUNTY. 

How  to  Handle   Apples^  and   Where    to   Keep    Them  —  Fruit 

House. 

HANDLING  AND    KEEPING    APPLES. 

Doubtless  many  are  ready  to  say  that  all  has  been  said  and 
written  upon  this  subject  that  need  or  can  be  said,  forgetting 
how  few  fruit  growers  bring  into  practice  the  teachings 
of  the  best  and  most  experienced  fruit  men,  and  how  many 
are  making  failures  rather  than  success  in  this  most  important 
branch  of  business. 

While  I  hardly  hope  to  bring  out  new  ideas  upon  the  sub- 
ject, I  shall  feel  amply  paid  for  my  effort  if  I  succeed  in 
awakening  an  interest  that  may  result  in  any  decided  change 
among  farmers  in  the  way  of  handling  apples. 

SHOULD   BEING  BETTER  PRICES. 

From  observations  made  in  marketing  my  last  year's 
crop  as  in  years  before,  I  am  convinced  that  with  proper  care 
the  early  and  Fall  apples  may  as  well  bring  eighty  as  forty 
cents  per  bushel.  The  most  common  way  practiced  by  the 
farmers  whose  methods  have  come  under  my  observation,  is,  as 
soon  as  it  is  seen  that  the  apples  are  falling  freely,  and  are  ripe 
and  mellow,  to  shake  them  from  the  tree  and  hurriedly  dump 
them  into  bags,  with  stems  and  leaves  clinging  to  them,  includ- 
ing perhaps  the  small  and  inferior  wormy  ones  all  right  in 
together.  They  then  take  them  off  in  a  lumber  wagon  to 
market,  pretty  well  satisfied  with  a  net  sale  of  forty  cents. 
The  dealer  says,  "  That  is  all  we  can  pay  for  Wisconsin  apples," 
while  at  the  same  time  good  Michigan  apples,  well  put  up,  are 
selling  for  two  and  a  half  to  three  dollars  per  barrel.  Under 
these  circumstances  the  dealer  can't  afford  to  pay  any  more, 


672  HOCK  COUNTS,  WISCONSIN. 

as  if  the  supply  is  large,  or  the  weather  becomes  unfavora- 
ble, they  soon  begin  to  perish,  and  perhaps  a  portion  have  to 
be  thrown  out,  the  dealer  feeling  glad  it  he  gets  his  money 
back,  and  disgusted  with  that  kind  of  business. 

MARKETING. 

I  watch  the  ripening  of  the  different  kinds  carefully, 
and  before  they  are  ripe  enough  to  fall  I  pick  by  hand  care- 
fully into  hand-baskets  ;  then,  without  bruising  them,  1  put 
the  fruit  into  crate  boxes,  or  new  clean  barrels,  ejecting 
every  thing  inferior.  The  low  grade  are  kept  for  cider  or  some 
other  use.  After  packing  carefully  and  securely,  I  place  them 
in  a  spring  wagon  and  make  for  the  market,  driving  slowly. 
On  arriving  there,  the  dealer  inquires,  "  What  have  you  got  ?  " 
I  describe  them  as  well  as  1  can,  to  which  he  replies,  "  Oh, 
they  are  Wisconsin  apples  ;  I'll  give  you  forty  cents  for  them." 
"No,"  I  say,  "I  want  eighty  cents."  He  turns  away,  saying, 
"  Forty  cents  is  all  they  are  worth,  for  I  bought  of  Mr.  So 
and  So  for  that  yesterday,  and  he'll  bring  some  more  in  a  day 
or  two."  Arguing  awhile  to  convince  him  of  the  superior 
conditions  in  which  my  apples  are,  I  leave  him,  he  still  persisting 
"  they  are  only  Wisconsin  apples  ;  won't  keep  ;  can't  sell  them ; 
haven't  the  flavor  nor  quality  of  Eastern  apples,  as  this  is  not 
a  fruit  country,"  etc.  I  go  on  with  my  load,  and  after  awhile 
meet  with  a  customer  who  will  talk  sense,  and  being  pleased 
with  my  fruit  takes  his  supply,  well  satisfied  with  my  price. 
He  sees  that  my  plan  is  much  above  the  common  method  of 
handling,  and  besides  that  they  are  much  better  coming  fresh 
from  the  orchard,  than  those  shipped  from  abroad. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  I  find  five  of  the  former  to  one  of 
the  latter  sort  of  customers,  though  I  avoid  all  the  former  kind 
when  once  found  out. 

CRATE  BOXES. 

While  upon  this  subject,  I  will  describe  my  crate  boxes, 
which  I  find  very  convenient,  and  would  recommend  them  for 
every  orchard  or  fruit  man's  use.  I  take  common  boards  ten 
inches  wide,  and  saw  off  two  pieces  eleven  inches  long  for  the 


SORTING  —  KEEPING  QUALITIES.  673 

ends.  Then  I  take  a  bunch  of  lath  and  saw  them  in  two  in 
the  middle ,  nail  four  of  these  pieces  on  to  the  ends  of  the 
boards  for  the  sides  of  the  crate,  with  five  on  one  side  for  the 
bottom,  then  one  on  each  side  of  the  top,  so  they  can  be  set 
top  of  each  other.  When  I  use  them  for  marketing,  I  shake 
down  and  pack  full,  nailing  on  the  other  three  pieces,  thus 
making  a  nice  bushel,  convenient  to  handle  in  the  wagon  or 
fruit  house.  These  can  be  made  at  odd  times  before  needed 
for  use,  and  be  snugly  packed  away  till  wanted.  I  find  them 
especially  convenient  for  marketing  the  early  fruit  in  a  retail 
way  near  at  home.  If  the  crates  do  not  go  with  the  apples, 
pack  them  away  for  another  year's  use. 

SORT   APPLES. 

Another  important  aid  in  selling  is  to  have  the  apples  sorted 
so  as  to  appear  uniform  in  size,  packing  the  small  ones  by 
themselves,  to  sell  for  what  they  will  bring.  Don't  understand 
me  as  recommending  the  use  of  crate  boxes  for  all  kinds  of 
apples,  only  where  they  are  convenient  in  either  orchard  or 
fruit  house.  Different  kinds  need  very  different  handling. 
Most  of  the  early  and  Fall  apples  should  have  access  to  the 
air,  while  such  as  have  a  tendency  to  shrivel,  require  close 
packages.  These  are  the  Fall  Swaar,  and  nearly  all  the  rus- 
sets, and  some  others,  which,  if  left  open,  soon  become  tough 
and  nearly  worthless.  Always  be  careful  to  have  the  pack- 
ages pressed  and  secured  closely  before  sending  to  market. 

KEEPING  QUALITIES. 

Now  let  us  consider  the  keeping  of  apples.  From  this 
season's  experience,  having  had  to  endure  three  weeks  of 
unbroken  August  weather  in  the  month  of  October,  and  now 
finding,  as  was  generally  apprehended,  that  apples  in  the  ordi- 
nary way  are  not  keeping,  the  question  comes  forcibly, 
"  What  can  we  do  in  time  to  come  to  meet  the  same  kind  of  an 
emergency,  to  which  our  climate  seems  to  be  so  subject  ?  "  I 
have  sought,  and  am  still  hoping,  for  a  better  answer  than  I 
am  able  to  give.  The  importance  of  having  suitably  con- 
structed fruit  houses,  forces  itself  upon  my  mind  as  a  necessity 

43 


674  ROCK  COUNTY,  WISCONSIN. 

which,  to  a  great  degree,  has  been  overlooked.  An  ordinary 
farm  house  cellar  is  a  poor  place  for  keeping  apples ;  generally 
it  is  too  warm  and  damp,  being  more  or  less  stored  with  pota- 
toes and  other  vegetables,  from  which  odors  and  gases  escape 
that  apples  readily  absorb,  and  which  tend  to  hasten  their 
decay  as  well  as  to  impart  bad  flavors.  What  seems  essential 
is  to  be  able  to  maintain  an  even,  pure,  low  state  of  atmos- 
phere. The  Birdsall  refrigerator  system  is  without  doubt  good, 
but  it  seems  rather  impracticable  for  common  use,  as  it  is  regu- 
lated by  ice,  and  just  at  the  season  when  it  is  most  needed  the 
ice  fails.  From  the  first  of  September  to  the  first  of  Novem- 
ber is  the  time  of  all  the  year  when  it  is  of  vital  importance  to 
know  how  our  fruit  is  preserving,  and  although  it  may  pass  that 
time  without  decay,  yet  if  the  late  keeping  kinds  have  been 
subjected  to  a  process  of  forced  ripening,  either  on  the  tree  or 
anywhere  else,  they  are  not  in  good  condition  for  keeping 
through  the  Winter. 

A    FRUIT    HOUSE. 

Having  had  three  years  experience  in  the  use  of  my  fruit 
house,  built  in  1876,  I  will  give  a  brief  description  of  what  it 
is,  and  what  it  has  proved  to  be.  It  is  twenty-four  by  thirty- 
three  feet,  two  stories  high,  with  a  cellar  below.  The  walls 
are  made  of  common  fencing  for  studding,  sheeted  both 
outside  and  inside.  This  space  is  all  packed  with  tan-bark, 
except  at  each  of  the  corners,  where  a  space  is  left  to  serve  as 
a  ventilating  chimney,  having  connection  with  the  rooms  of 
each  story  by  a  trough  or  passage  made  under  the  joists  of  the 
floors  (they  being  sealed  underneath).  These  chimneys  con- 
nect with  the  open  air,  and  are  all  provided  with  shutters  to 
be  used  at  will.  Furring  is  placed  upon  the  inside  sheeting, 
and  another  lining  of  matched  stuff,  which,  with  double  doors 
and  windows,  makes  a  building  almost  impervious  to  heat  or 
cold.  While  the  building  proves  of  great  value,  I  do  not  con- 
sider the  ventilating  system  complete  ;  for  experience  shows 
that  the  currents  of  atmosphere  are  not  controlled  upon  the 
same  principle  as  fire  or  smoke  in  common  chimneys.  I  there- 


PLAN  OF  SHED. 


675 


676 


ROCK   COUNTY,  WISCONSIN. 


fore  conclude  that  the  subject  requires  much  scientific  study  and 
careful  application,  to  which  we  need  give  our  earnest  atten- 
tion When  frosty  nights  commence,  I  control  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  building  easity,  by  opening  the  doors  and  windows 
at  night  and  closing  them  in  the  morning,  which  gives  a  satis- 
factory temperature  for  three  or  four  days  of  continued  warm 
weather.  A  little  fire  may  be  needed  in  extreme  cold  weather. 


END  VIEW  OF  ONE  TENT  OF  SHED. 
24  ft.  wide,  with  18  ft.  posts. 


In  conclusion,  I  would  repeat  the  general  principles  safe 
to  act  upon.  Have  all  your  packages  ready  before  your 
apples  are  ripe.  Use  none  but  clean,  inviting  looking  pack- 
ages, and  always  pack  snug  and  full.  Never  shake,  but  pick 
and  sort  with  careful  handling.  If  you  have  a  fair  market 


LOCATION  AND   SOIL.  677 

accessible,  dispose  of  your  surplus  as  soon  as  ready,  and  do  not 
wait  for  it  to  become  mellow.  Never  attempt  to  get  rid  of 
poor  or  inferior  apples  by  mixing  with  good  ones. 

The  diagrams  are  rough  drawings  of  a  cheap  shed  frame, 
made  of  light  scantling,  and  firmly  put  together  with  half-inch 
bolts.  They  were  designed  to  be  open  all  around,  and  are  roofed 
with  dimension  boards,  set  on  fence  posts  four  feet  in  the  ground. 
They  were  built  in  1878,  and  cost  fifty  dollars.  They  are  valu- 
able for  hay,  loose  grain,  clover  seed  and  straw. 


GEORGE  J.  KELLOGG, 

JANESVILLE,     BOCK     COUNTY. 

Fruit  Growing  and  Marketing — Preparing  the  Soil  —  Apples — 
Pears  — Plums  —  Cherries  —  Grapes  —  Currants  —  Berries. 

LOCATION  AND  SOIL. 

The  location  and  soil  for  a  fruit  farm  is  of  the  first  and 
greatest  importance.  If  the  site  is  poor,  no  care  can  make 
fruit  raising  a  success.  It  may  be  a  satisfaction  to  have  a 
meager  supply,  but  it  can  never  pay.  Avoid  flat,  level  lands. 
There  must  be  surface  drainage.  Avoid  hillsides  that  wash 
badly ;  also  hills  with  subsoil  of  gravel  or  sand.  Clay  marl, 
or  clay  loam,  with  an  underlying  of  limestone,  such  as  our 
timber  ridges  afford,  are  the  best  locations.  Where  white  oak 
and  hickory,  burr  oak  and  butternut  abound,  there  you  will 
find  the  elements  of  soil  suited  to  tree  growth.  Undulating 
knolls,  ridges,  sloping  sufficient  to  easily  run  off  the  sur- 
face water,  even  very  steep,  rocky  hillsides,  and  the  highest 
table  lands,  are  often  very  successful  locations. 

The  hilltops  of  northern  and  northeastern  slopes  are  excel- 
lent sites  for  the  orchard.  If  already  located,  and  must  have 
the  orchard  on  low  ground,  back  furrow  until  the  place  is 
raised  for  each  row  from  one  to  two  feet  higher  than  the  dead 
furrow.  On  this  ridge  the  trees  should  be  planted. 


678  ROCK  COUNTY,  WISCONSIN. 

VARIETIES. 

In  putting  out  an  orchard  of  from  five  hundred  to  one 
thousand  trees,  I  set  the  root  grafts  where  I  want  the  tree  to 
remain,  and  drive  a  stake  by  each  miniature  tree,  and  plant  the 
field  for  three  years  to  corn,  or  some  low-lived  crop. 

The  cost  of  grafts  does  not  exceed  one  cent  each,  and  I 
always  set  two  in  each  place  to  insure  a  perfect  stand,  cutting 
out  or  transplanting  if  both  grow.  Next  to  grafts,  I  prefer  two 
or  three-year  old  trees. 

PREPARING  THE   SOIL. 

This  must  be  thorough,  and  if  sufficiently  rich  for  corn,  it 
is  good  enough  for  apples,  pears,  plums,  grapes,  and  small 
fruits.  The  latter  will  bear  higher  cultivation  than  trees. 

When  I  have  only  sand  subsoil  and  gravel  knolls,  pota- 
toes and  white  beans  pay  best.  I  then  buy  my  larger  fruits. 
Still,  if  a  man  is  foolish  enough  to  think  he  can  succeed,  he 
must  dig  out  a  two-horse  wagon  load  of  sand  and  gravel,  and 
go  to  a  limestone  quarry  or  clay  ridge,  and  get  soil  and  stones 
sufficient  to  replace  the  dirt  drawn  away,  on  which  he  should 
set  his  tree.  It  is  very  essential  in  replanting  an  old  orchard, 
when  it  is  desired  to  have  the  trees  occupy  the  same  place  as 
the  dead  trees,  to  dig  out  a  large  hole,  burn  a  brush  heap  in  it, 
or  replace  the  soil  with  fresh  dirt,  as  in  the  case  of  the  sand  or 
gravel  above  mentioned.  By  so  doing,  success  and  failures  are 
about  evenly  balanced.  In  all  cases  of  planting,  cut  the  roots 
fresh,  back  to  sound  wood,  unless  "  callous "  has  formed. 
Plant  two  inches  deeper  than  trees  which  stand  in  the  nursery. 
In  case  of  root  grafts,  set  with  a  dibble,  and  be  sure  to  make 
the  dirt  tight  at  the  roots,  and  set  to  the  upper  bud  of  the 
scion. 

I  have  given  instructions  as  to  planting  and  location 
before  I  have  named  the  varieties.  This  is  the  most  difficult 
part.  If  you  have  a  friend  or  neighbor  who  has  soil  and  loca- 
tion similar  to  jrour  own,  see  if  he  has  any  thing  that  is  a  suc- 
cess. But  oftentimes  the  changing  from  one  side  of  a  river  to 


APPLES  —  PEARS.  679 

the  other  gives  so  great  a  change  of  soils  that  what  is  a 
success  in  one  place,  may  be  an  entire  failure  even  within 
rifle  shot. 

APPLES. 

If  you  are  planting  for  family  use,  it  takes  a  wider  range 
of  varieties  than  for  the  market.  The  family  needs  a  succes- 
sion of  fruits,  while  for  the  market  you-  may  expend  all  your 
energies  on  one  variety.  Take  the  one  that  is  a  success,  as 
that  pays.  No  matter  whether  it  is  an  early  fruit  or  a  long 
keeper,  make  it  a  specialty. 

When  Stickney  would  recommend  all  Duchess  of  Olden- 
burg, I  would  recommend  planting  Early  Rose  potatoes  for  the 
first  five  years.  From  these  you  can  have  either  early  or  long 
keeping  apples  the  first  year,  and  plenty  of  them.  If  you 
can't  find  any  trees  about  you  that  are  bearing,  and  insist 
on  a  list  for  Wisconsin,  I  will  give  it  as  follows :  Tetofsky, 
Red  Astrachan,  Duchess  of  Oldenburg,  Fameuse,  Wealthy, 
Pewaukee,  Tallman  Sweet,  Golden  Russets,  Ben  Davis,  and 
Walbridge.  I  might  add  ten  more  kinds,  but  refrain. 
As  to  crab-apples,  the  Transcendent  must  be  set  on 
rather  poor  soil,  or  it  will  blight.  Whitney's  No.  20,  Hislop, 
Briar's  Sweet,  on  clay  only.  Most  of  these  apples  and  crabs 
will  succeed  on  all  locations,  and  many  more  where  the  situa- 
tion is  choice,  and  especially  where  the  orchard  stands  near  a 
large  body  of  water. 

PEARS. 

If  you  must  have  pears,  grow  Early  Rose  potatoes,  or 
white  beans,  and  buy  your  pears,  or  hire  out  by  the  month  in 
harvests  for  ten  dollars  a  month,  and  save  your  money.  The 
pears  I  name,  however,  are  Flemish  Beauty,  Clapp's  Favorite, 
and  Winter  Nelis  as  the  best  three,  adding  Early  Bergamot  as 
the  fourth  and  earliest.  These  will  all  stand  a  temperature  of 
twenty-five  below  Zero,  if  it  is  steady  cold. 

PLUMS. 
Plum  prospects  are  just  about  like  pears,  as  regards  profit. 


680  HOCK  COUNTY,  WISCONSIN. 

I  once  believed  the  Miner  or  Hinkley  was  to  give  me  plums. 
It  is  hardy,  a  good  grower,  but  outside  of  a  little  circle  of 
Grant  county,  it  is  a  humbug.  It  is  curculio  proof,  for  the 
little  Turk  can't  find  it.  The  Lombard  is  very  prolific,  and 
bears  itself  to  death.  It  will  stand  the  cold  about  as  well  as 
pears,  but  you  must  catch  Mr.  Turk  this  time,  or  no  plums. 

I  have  strong  hope  of  the  DeSoto,  and  proof  that  in  many 
places  it  is  a  great  bearer.  This  is  certainly  curculio  proof.  I 
also  have  the  Basset,  and  if  half  is  true  that  is  told  of  it,  I 
can  raise  nice  plums  for  twenty-five  cents  per  bushel. 

CHERRIES. 

Plant  largely  of  Red  English,  Early  Richmond,  and  Eng- 
lish Morello.  The  more  you  plant  the  happier  you  will  make 
the  birds.  Better  have  them  on  Morello  stocks,  if  they  do 
sprout  and  cost  double. 

GRAPES. 

Any  good  corn  land  will  bring  good  crops  of  grapes,  but 
the  best  situations  for  orchards  will  hold  good  for  grapes. 
There  are  but  few  kinds  that  will  succeed  on  south  hillsides, 
and  the  south  side  of  buildings.  There  must  be  circulation  of 
air  to  prevent  mildew,  and  too  great  heat  will  scald  the  leaf  of 
very  many  of  our  choice  kinds.  Of  varieties  there  is  endless 
confusion.  The  general  adaptation,  health,  vigor,  and  pro- 
ductiveness of  the  Concord,  has  placed  it  at  the  head  of  the 
list  of  the  poorer  quality  of  table  grapes.  It  has  some  seed- 
lings, however,  which  promise  to  exceed  the  parent  in  all  the 
good  points,  and  far  surpass  it  in  quality.  The  "Worden  is 
best  known,  and  most  widely  disseminated.  It  has  never 
failed  to  give  satisfaction.  Still,  there  are  others  making  great 
pretensions.  Many  of  our  choice  varieties  come  out,  make  a 
swell,  and  ride  back  on  the  same  wave  and  sink  forever. 

Of  the  old  varieties  that  still  demand  recognition,  I  will 
name  but  few  —  the  Worden,  Concord,  Delaware,  Wilder, 
Agawam,  and  Lindley.  I  would  like  to  put  in  a  reliable  white 
grape,  but  Allen's  Hybrid  will  mildew,  the  Martha  is  poor  in 


CURRANTS  —  BLACKBERRIES.  681 

quality  and  quantity,  and  the   Lady  Washington  has  not  met 
my  expectations. 

CURRANTS. 

I  must  not  overlook  the  currant,  but  must  fight  its  ene- 
mies and  keep  it  for  the  good  it  brings  us  every  year.  The  old  Red 
and  White  Dutch,  White  Grape,  and  La  Versailles,  are  among 
the  most  profitable.  Dust  the  leaves  while  wet  with  white 
hellebore,  as  soon  as  any  worms  appear,  and  keep  at  them. 
Use  the  same  solution  as  you  would  for  canker  worm  on  the 
apple.  This  will  do  the  currant  worms  good,  but  do  not  apply 
it  after  the  fruit  is  set :  One  pound  of  arsenic  in  one  hun- 
dred to  one  hundred  and  fifty  gallons  of  water.  It  will  use  up 
the  canker  and  currant  worm. 

GOOSEBERRIES. 

Among  gooseberries,  Houghton,  Mountain,  Smith's  and 
Downing  will  give  the  best  returns,  and  they  are  free  from  mil- 
dew. The  last  two  are  far  the  best. 

BLACKBERRIES. 

The  best  of  these  is  Ancient  Britton  —  hardy,  prolific, 
and  good  quality.  Some  make  a  practice  of  giving  Winter 
protection,  others  do  not.  The  Snyder  is  a  comparatively  new 
variety.  Within  four  years  it  has  been  twice  killed  just  at  the 
snow  line,  while  the  tips  remained  perfectly  fresh.  The  cause  of 
this  I  am  at  a  loss  to  know.  It  seems  good  for  thirty  below 
zero,  and  productive  to  a  fault.  Other  varieties  are  making 
wondrous  strides.  A  new  one,  and  Wisconsin  bred,  is  Stone's 
Hardy,  in  which  I  have  proof  that  it  is  adapted  to  our  climate, 
and  is  of  good  quality. 

RASPBERRIES. 

For  black,  plant  Doolittle,  Mammoth  Cluster,  and  Gregg. 
These  ripen  in  the  order  named.  I  should  put  in  Davison's- 
Thoniless,  if  it  paid.  The  Gregg  is  the  largest  and  latest,  and 
the  three  are  indispensable  in  every  collection.  Of  the  red 
raspberries,  I  put  Cuthbert  first  in  every  point ;  second,  Bran- 
dy wine  ;  third,  Turner ;  but  neither  of  these  will  do  for  the 


682  ROCK  COUNTY,  WISCONSIN. 

small  garden,  because  of  their  propensity  to  sucker,  unless  the 
suckers  be  treated  as  weeds.  The  best  for  the  garden,  proba- 
bly, is  the  Philadelphia,  although  it  is  too  dark  for  some.  I 
think  it  indispensable.  Among  the  red  are  many  claims  to 
public  favor.  Some  have  a  local  reputation,  some  are  so  ten- 
der they  Winter  kill,  but  during  twenty-five  years  I  have 
found  nothing  equal  to  the  above  for  general  market  and 
family  use. 

STRAWBERRIES. 

Last  but  not  least  of  the  small  fruits,  I  come  to  the  straw- 
berry. Here  there  is  as  much  chance  for  bewilderment  as 
among  grapes.  There  is  a  rage  for  new  varieties,  something 
better  every  way  than  the  Wilson,  large  as  apples,  and  choice  as 
Burr's  New  Pine.  While  it  may  not  be  found,  certainly  very  great 
effort  has  been  made  with  very  great  results.  First  on  this  list 
of  clamorous  favorites  I  may  put  the  Shapeless,  with  its  ber- 
ries that  so  often  reach  nine  inches  in  measurement.  It  is  an 
exceedingly  vigorous  and  healthy  plant,  has  a  perfect  bloom, 
great  productiveness  and  excellent  quality,  with  perhaps  only 
one  thing  lacking  —  firmness ;  but  it  has  sufficient  of  this  for 
any  ordinary  transportation. 

Of  the  new  varieties  I  place  the  Crescent  as  the  most  vig- 
orous, productive,  and  luscious  of  the  whole  list.  As  to  its 
quality,  however,  there  is  a  diversity  of  opinion.  Some  soils  serve 
to  give  it  an  insipid  flavor,  but  nearly  all  good  judges  place  its 
quality  ahead  of  the  Wilson.  It  lacks  the  firmness  of  Wilson  for 
long  shipments,  but  some  marked  points  of  superiority  will 
long  make  it  an  indispensable  variety.  It  was  stated  at  our 
State  convention  that  it  would  glut  the  market  to  introduce 
this  generally  among  farmers,  as  it  requires  no  care  after  the 
first  year,  except  the  picking  of  the  enormous  crop  of  fruit.  I 
will  give  one  instance  from  my  own  grounds  last  season.  In 
1878  I  planted  eight  hundred  Crescents  in  one  block,  rows 
nineteen  rods  long.  In  the  last  row  there  happened  to  be  just 
ninety-nine  plants.  The  tending  was  good.  I  mulched  in  the 
Winter  following  with  chip  manure.  The  row  had  formed  a 
bed  three  feet  wide.  No  cultivation  or  weeding  was  done  in 


VARIETIES  OF  STRAWBERRIES  683 

1879.  The  first  two  pickings  were  not  kept  separate ;  the 
third  picking,  one  boy  in  nine  hours  picked  from  the  row  of 
ninety-nine  plants  just  one  hundred  quarts  of  extra  nice  fruit. 
The  yield  after  this  was  not  kept  separate,  although  it  was 
picked  at  least  seven  or  eight  times,  giving  each  time  good 
pickings  of  large  and  very  satisfactory  fruit. 

One  point  of  difference  of  opinion  regarding  this  variety, 
is  the  perfection  or  imperfection  of  the  blossom.  While  the 
later  bloom  seems  pistillate,  the  early  seems,  and  is,  hermaph- 
rodite. In  planting  this  kind  by  the  acre,  it  will  be  well  to  set 
a  row  of  Wilsons  every  rod. 

I  will  notice  a  few  of  the  new  sorts.  The  Capt.  Jack  is 
healthy,  vigorous  and  very  productive,  exceeding  its  parent, 
the  Wilson,  but  lacking  character  in  flavor,  and  requiring  great 
care  in  picking,  or  the  calyx  will  be  left  on  the  vines.  For 
family  use,  this  is  a  point  in  its  favor. 

Red  Jacket,  though  a  choice  family  berry,  is  so  firmly 
attached  to  the  calyx  that  a  knife  is  needed  to  hull  it. 
Crystal  City  is  claimed  to  be  ten  days  earlier  than  the  Wilson, 
and  every  way  as  worthy.  Glendale  is  the  latest  of  all.  Its 
only  objection  seems  to  be  the  large  calyx,  which  detracts 
from  its  quantity. 

Before  leaving  the  list  of  strawberries,  let  me  call  atten- 
tion to  the  great  value  of  the  Green  Prolific  for  home  use,  set- 
ting every  third  row  Wilson.  Thus  you  get  an  enormous 
yield,  but  without  some  variety  to  fertilize,  it  is  entirely  worth- 
less. It  is  hardly  safe  to  take  plants  from  an  old  bed,  for  it  is 
so  vigorous  you  will  be  apt  to  get  all  Green  Prolific,  which  will 
be  a  failure.  A  friend  of  mine,  from  a  row  of  Green  Prolific 
ten  rods  long,  picked  nine  bushels  per  week  through  the  best 
of  the  season.  Col.  Cheney,  also  pistillate,  is  choice  and 
large. 

MARKETING. 

A  few  words  on  marketing  and  I  am  done.  Let  the  pack- 
ages, whatever  they  are,  be  clean  and  attractive.  Let  the  fruit 
be  as  good  at  the  bottom  as  the  top.  Reject  all  defective 
specimens.  Assort  into  sizes,  as  it  will  pay,  and  put  the  price 


684  LA  FAYETTE  COUNTY,  WISCONSIN. 

enough  higher  to  make  it  pay.  Always  give  full  measure.  A 
small  sized  package  rounded  up,  will  always  sell  better  than 
the  same  quantity  in  a  large  package.  Always  supply  the  home 
market,  and  by  saving  freights  and  commission  you  will  find  }^our 
net  profits  better  than  on  shipments.  In  picking  apples,  do  it 
as  soon  as  the  variety  begins  to  fall  from  the  effects  of  ripen- 
ing. Handle  as  carefully  as  you  would  eggs. 

Always  remember  that  the  best  market  is  the  home  mar- 
ket. I  refer  now  to  the  family.  Plenty  of  fruit  means  very 
few  pills. 


JAMES  W.  TRESTRAIL, 

SEYMOUR,     LA    FAYETTE     COUNTY. 
Hog  Pen  —  Sheep  Shed  —  Racks  —  Dairying. 

DESCRIPTION   OF   HOG   PEN. 

My  best  hog  pen  is  made  on  the  following  plan  :  The 
building  is  sixteen  by  forty.  One-half  of  its  entire  length  is 
covered  by  a  shingle  roof,  for  the  sleeping  places.  This 
is  divided  into  four  apartments,  calculated  to  accommodate 
comfortably  from  eight  to  ten  hogs  in  each.  The  other 
half,  in  front  of  the  sleeping  places,  is  about  four  feet 
high,  and  is  boarded  close.  Between  each  apartment  is  a 
sliding  door  (up  and  down),  also  one  at  each  end.  When  the 
ground  has  a  little  fall,  the  upper  end  is  most  convenient  for 
driving  into,  and  the  lower  end  for  loading  up  for  market,  by 
backing  the  wagon  right  up.  It  is  built  on  rock  pillars,  but 
where  rock  is  scarce  and  timber  plenty,  posts  can  be  set  into 
the  ground  to  rest  the  frame  on.  The  floor  is  about  two  feet 
from  the  ground.  I  use  grub  plank  for  floors,  and  inch  boards 
for  partitions.  The  troughs  run  the  entire  length  of  the  pen, 
an  outside  board  being  removed  immediately  above  the  top  of  the 
trough,  so  as  to  pour  in  the  slop  from  the  outside.  Inside  is  a 
cover  for  each  trough,  hung  on  hinges,  which  I  let  remain 


SHEEP  SHED  — RACKS.  685 

down  until  the  slop  is  emptied  in.  This  cover  is  held  up  by 
hooks  and  staples  when  feeding  ;  but  this  is  very  little  used, 
as  hogs  soon  become  docile  when  fattening.  On  the  outside  in 

o  o 

front  is  a  platform  one  plank  wide,  running  the  entire  length 
of  the  pen.  This  platform  is  about  a  foot  high,  and  is  used  to 
walk  on  to  deliver  the  slop  or  other  feed.  Cooked  grain  is 
almost  entirely  discarded  in  our  neighborhood,  most  farmers 
using  it  in  the  raw  state.  Some  prefer  having  it  ground,  and 
soaking  it,  whilst  others  are  just  as  successful  when  they  soak 
the  grain  whole.  When  the  weather  is  cold,  I  lay  aside  all 
theories,  and  feed  shelled  corn,  or  corn  in  the  ear. 

SHEEP    SHED. 

My  sheep  shed  fronts  to  the  south,  and  is  sixteen  by 
twenty-four,  eight  feet  high  in  front,  with  a  shanty  roof  about 
one-quarter  pitch,  making  it  four  feet  high  behind  (or  the  back 
part).  The  yard  in  front  is  close  boarded,  four  feet  high, 
about  double  the  capacity  of  the  shed.  When  the  nights  are 
very  cold,  I  turn  them  all  into  the  shed.  My  door  is  divided 
in  two,  so  that  the  upper  part  can  be  left  open  for  ventilation, 
and  for  light.  I  have  one  board  in  front,  hung  on  hinges, 
which  can  be  held  up  by  the  hooks  and  staples  for  the  same 
purpose  —  light  and  ventilation.  During  the  Winter  I  let  my 
sheep  out  at  noon  time,  and  turn  them  in  again  at  or  before 
sun-down.  When  the  weather  is  not  severe  or  stormy,  I  leave 
the  door  of  the  shed  open,  so  that  they  can  use  the  yard  or 
shed  at  their  own  pleasure. 

RACKS. 

My  racks  for  feeding  are  on  the  back  part  and  one  end,  about 
three  and  a  half  feet  high,  and  flare  a  little  at  the  top.  The  sec- 
ond board  from  the  bottom  is  also  left  out.  I  have  also  a  board 
left  open  on  one  side  of  the  yard  for  the  sheep  to  eat  out  of. 
My  feed  boxes  run  through  the  center  of  the  shed,  just  high 
enough  for  them  to  eat  out  of.  They  are  shallow,  and  not 
wide  enough  to  tempt  them  to  jump  into.  There  should  be 
two  or  more,  as  that  allows  alleys  for  them  to  pass  through. 
This  is  a  cheap  shed.  A  more  costly  one  might  have  more 


686  IA  PAYETTE  COUNTY,  WISCONSIN. 

conveniences.  I  am  a  new  beginner  with  sheep,  and  only 
have  forty ,  but  this  shed  affords  plenty  of  room.  My  roof  is 
made  of  boards  lengthwise,  lapped  about  one  and  one-half 
inches 

WINDMILLS. 

With  regard  to  windmills,  I  can  say  out  very  little,  as  our 
county  is  well  watered.  The  few  farmers  who  have  windmills, 
simply  have  a  tank  or  trough  for  the  water  to  run  into,  bringing 
their  horses,  and  letting  the  cattle  go  to  the  trough  or  this  tank. 
Some  run  the  water  into  troughs  for  their  hog  and  sheep  yard. 

CREAMERIES  AND   DAIRYING. 

I  only  know  of  one  creamery  in  the  county.  It  is  sit- 
uated in  the  town  of  White  Oak  Springs,  and  was  commenced 
last  Summer.  The  stockholders  are  satisfied  with  its  workings. 

In  regard  to  dairying,  I  can  only  give  you  my  own  mode, 
as  described  by  my  better  half.  The  first  and  most  essential 
thing  in  making  butter  is  cleanliness.  In  Summer  her  milk 
pans  are  washed  in  two  waters.  We  use  stoneware  pans,  and 
the  milk  is  kept  in  the  cellar.  My  cellar  is  the  full  size  of  the 
house,  and  the  milk  cellar  lies  on  the  north  side.  Two  win- 
dows are  on  the  north  side,  and  there  is  a  lattice  window  over 
the  door  in  the  partition  wall  opposite  to  the  outside  window, 
and  opposite  to  the  outside  door  on  the  south  side.  In  Sum- 
mer the  milk  stands  for  three  meals  ;  but  if  a  thunder-storm 
arises,  not  so  long.  After  churning,  the  butter  is  worked  over 
three  times.  My  wife  never  washes  the  butter,  nor  puts  any 
foreign  substance  into  it,  save  salt,  about  one  ounce  to  the 
pound.  In  Winter  the  milk  is  kept  in  the  buttery.  It  stands 
about  five  meals,  and  is  worked  over  twice  after  churning. 

In  Summer  I  feed  my  cows  grass.  In  Winter  I  feed  them 
corn-stalks,  oat  straw,  a  little  clover  hay  night  and  morning, 
and  about  a  dozen  good  ears  of  corn  each. 


OHIO. 

ULRIC  BLICKENSDERFER, 

ASHTABULA  COUNTY. 

Energy  in  Farm  Work  —  Skillfully  Directing  Hired  Help  —  Sys* 
tem  in  Management  —  Improving  Appearance  of  Farm,  Inex- 
pensively—  Clay  Soils  —  Foot  Rot  in  Sheep  —  Farm 
Accounts. 

FARM    MANAGEMENT. 

Residing  upon  a  farm  from  the  age  of  eight  till  long  after 
attaining  majority,  educated  for  the  calling  at  an  Agricul- 
tural college,  I  acquired  both  a  practical  and  theoretical  knowl- 
edge of  its  details.  Observing  that  moderately  large  farms  Avere 
not  paying  as  well  proportionately  as  small  ones,  Avhen  in  theory 
they  should  pay  proportionately  better,  like  any  other  business,  on 
account  of  the  manifest  advantages  which  operations  on  a  large 
scale  have  over  those  on  a  small,  I  made  this  subject  a  special 
study,  practically,  and  after  acting  as  a  superintendent  of 
a  farm  of  nearly  one  thousand  acres,  and  then  of  another  of 
fifteen  hundred  acres,  the  result  of  ray  experience  is,  that  a 
large  farm  can  unquestionably  be  made  to  pay  as  well  as  can 
other  kinds  of  business,  if  properly  managed.  By  this  I  mean 
that  it  is  necessary  that  the  farmer  have  a  thorough  practical 
knowledge  of  and  experience  in  the  business,  a  tireless  energy, 
attention  to  its  details,  and  the  faculty  of  managing  hired  help 
advantageously  and  keeping  accounts  with  every  crop  as  if  it 
were  an  individual.  It  is  impossible  to  say  which  of  these 
requisites  is  most  important;  all  are  absolutely  essential  to 
success. 

All  this  is  best  illustrated  by  narrating  actual  experience. 
The  farm  first  above  referred  to,  was  situated  near  Conneaut, 


688  ASHTABULA  COUNTY,  OHIO. 

Ashtabula  county,  Ohio,  on  the  eastern  limits  of  the  Western 
Reserve,  (a  celebrated  grass  region,  the  soil  being  about 
twelve  inches  loam  with  a  hard  clay  sub-soil,)  and  when  I 
assumed  charge  it  was  receiving  but  fifteen  hundred  dollars  a 
year  for  sale  of  products,  with  little  or  no  profit  on  that.  At  the 
end  of  the  second  year  my  books  showed  sales  of  eleven  thou- 
sand dollars,  with  a  profit  of  five  thousand  dollars  ;  which  could 
have  been  steadily  increased,  until  the  full  benefit  of  the  com- 
plete rotation  of  crops  (four  }-ears)  should  have  been  attained. 
The  farm  and  its  business  was  in  every  way  run  down,  having 
but  one  farm  team,  one  light  road  team,  one  extra  horse,  four 
xjolts  (of  breaking  age),  two  old  wagons,  no  reaper,  mower,  or 
drill,  an  entire  deficiency  in  all  farm  implements  and  those  on 
hand  exposed  to  the  weather.  Buildings,  fences,  etc.,  were  dil- 
apidated in  appearance,  rubbish  scattered  everywhere,  fence 
rows  full  of  weeds,  and  the  whole  face  of  things  looked  badly 
enough.  Part  of  the  farm  was  not  being  used  at  all,  but 
growing  up  in  \veeds,  and  a  small  portion 'rented  to  shiftless 
tenants,  growing  poor  crops.  The  remaining  five  hundred  acres 
were  in  forest,  the  timber  of  which  was  mainly  only  fit  for  fire 
wood,  and  was  being  cut  at  the  rate  of  a  few  hundred  cords 
each  Winter  and  sold  to  a  neighboring  railroad.  The  problem 
first  presented  was,  to  bring  order  out  of  all  this  confusion,  put 
the  farm  under  a  good  state  of  cultivation  and  appearance, 
with  as  little  expense  as  possible,  and  make  it  pay  while 
doing  it ;  which  was  most  satisfactorily  and  practically  carried 
out  in  the  following  manner  : 

First^  resuming  control  of  all  rented  land,  I  laid  out 
a  regular  and  systematic  rotation  of  crops  to  follow  each  other 
annually.  The  best  rotation  for  such  land  I  found  to  be  corn* 
oats,  wheat,  meadow,  the  ground  finally  on  the  fourth  year  (fol- 
lowing the  third  year's  wheat),  going  into  meadow  to  remain 
such  for  three  years,  after  which  it  would  begin  to  fail 
or  run  out,  and  could  be  used  for  one  year  to  supply  pasture, 
before  plowing  up  for  corn  again,  in  the  rotation.  There  being 
five  hundred  acres  plow-land,  this  system  of  rotation  required 
the  annual  plowing  of  about  sixty  acres  for  each  of  the  three 


FIRST  YEAR'S  WORK.  689 

grain  crops,  and  made  the  period  of  the  rotation  (that  is,  the 
time  in  which  you  got  back  to  the  original  sixty  acres,  with 
the  same  crop  again),  eight  years,  viz:  four  years  in  alternat- 
ing with  corn,  oats,  wheat,  and  meadow,  on  the  same  sixty 
acres ;  four  years  more  in  resting  three  years  as  meadow 
and  one  j-ear  as  pasture:  making  8x60=480,  or  the  five 
hundred  acres. 

Second,  though  in  carrying  out  of  this  plan  it  took  the  first 
year  to  get  fairly  going,  sixty  acres  were  put  in  corn  the  first 
season,  and  other  smaller  temporary  crops  were  planted,  pend- 
ing the  more  rapid  and  extensive  bringing  of  the  five  hun- 
dred acres  plow-land  under  cultivation  that  must  follow  in  the 
second  year.  Two  yoke  of  oxen  were  bought,  and  the  four  colts 
broken  in,  to  give  two  more  horse  teams  for  the  second  year's 
anticipated  work,  making  four  span  of  horse  teams  and  the 
two  yoke  of  cattle  then  ready  for  the  year's  cultivation.  During 
the  Winter  these  young  horse  teams  got  thoroughly  broken  for 
following  Summer's  work,  by  sledding  out  wood  in  cutting 
off  timber.  The  previous  Winter  some  three  or  four  hundred 
cords  had  been  cut,  and  much  of  it  hired  hauled  out.  I 
now  hauled  it  out  with  our  own  teams  much  cheaper,  and 
gave  the  teams  (necessary  for  the  Summer  farming)  profitable 
Winter  employment,  cutting  and  hauling  out  about  eighteen 
hundred  cords,  which  gave  many  idle  persons  Winter  work, 
chopping  by  contract  per  cord.  The  receipts  for  this  year's 
operations  footed  five  thousand  dollars,  and  expenditures  were 
that  amount,  as  we  paid  four  hundred  and  sixty  dollars  for  the 
oxen  alone,  and  bought  several  wagons,  a  reaper,  a  drill,  harness, 
implements,  etc.,  etc.,  all  extra  outlays  necessary  in  starting, 
aside  from  the  ordinary  regular  expenses,  as  hired  help,  rep.ars", 
running  expenses,  improvements,  (limited  carefully,)  living  of 
the  family,  etc.,  etc. 

The  second  year  the  ball  opened  in  earnest ;  but  we  were 
then  ready  for  it.  The  sixty  acres  corn  stubble  of  the  first  or 
preceding  year,  were  put  into  oats;  sixty  new  acres  into  corn. 
Only  one  hundred  acres  hay  were  cut  —  remains  of  the  old 
regime, — but  on  the  completion  of  the  period  of  rotation,  two 

44 


690 


ASHTABULA  COUNTY,  OHIO. 


hundred  and  fifty  acres  good  heavy  grass  were  to  be  cut  annu- 
ally. After  having  the  sixty  acres  oats  of  this  (the  second) 
year  harvested,  the  ground  was  put  into  wheat  and  seeded 
down  for  new  meadow  of  the  ensuing  year,  and  the  three  3*ears 
thereafter.  In  the  Fall,  the  sixty  acres  corn  were  cut,  husked 
immediately,  the  fodder  stacked,  and  the  ground  Fall-plowed 
for  oats  the  coming  Spring.  During  this  (the  second)  Winter 
nearly  four  thousand  cords  of  wood  were  cut  and  mostly  hauled 
out  by  the  farm  teams,  giving  them  profitable  Winter  employ- 
ment again.  The  thriving  condition  of  the  business  of  the 
farm  at  the  end  of  the  second  year,  is  best  shown  by  comparing 
its  condition  before  with  the  first  and  second  year  after  my 

management. 

Expense.  Receipts. 
BEFORE. 

No  system  in  cultivation 

But  few  acres  in  crops - 

400  cords  wood,  annually  cut 


AFTER. 

1st  year.    A  systematic  rotation  of  crops,  etc.    ... 
Viz :  GO  acres  corn,  harvested 

60      "     corn-stubble  Fall-plowed  (for  oats 

the  3d  year) 

20  acres  Winter  wheat,  (put  in  tempora- 
rily, pending  the  rotation.)  -        ... 
75  acres  grass  cut  (pending  the  rotation.) 

1,800  cords  wood  cut 

Farm  stocked  with  teams,  wagons,  reaper, 
mower,  drill,  implements,  etc. 

2d  year.     GO  acres  corn,  harvested      -       -       -       .  .     . 
GO      "      oats, 

GO      "      corn-stubble,  Fall-plowed  (for  oats  the 
3d  year)  -------- 

GO      "      oats-stubble,  put  in  wheat  (for  3d  year) 
GO     "      Winter  wheat  seeded  (for  new  meadow 

4th  year) 

20  acres  wheat  harvested  (pending  the  rotation) 
100    "      grass  cut  (pending  the  rotation)  - 
4,000  cords  wood  cut         -        -        -        -  '     - 

Farm  much  improve'!  in  appearance  every- 
where ;  buildings  and  fences  repaired,  weedy 
fence  rows  plowed  up ;  rubbish  removed,  etc. 


$5,000 


$0,000 


$1,500 


$5,000 


§11,000 


It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  object  in  the  case  of  this 
farm  was  to  revive  and  increase  its  business,  at  the  same  time 
improving  its  appearance  and  condition  as  fast  as  possible,  with 
as  little  expense  as  practicable ;  and  it  will  be  seen  that  this 


ENERGY  IN  FARM   WORK. 

was  all  accomplished  by  the  end  of  the  second  year,  the  farm 
paying  a  profit  all  the  time,  with  a  fine  future  prospect. 

Details  of  leading  features  of  my  management  are  best 
given  under  corresponding  heads ;  for  example  : 

ENERGY  IN   FARM  WORK. 

I  always  drove  my  work,  never  allowed  it  to  crowd  me,. 
Some  persons  are  always  behind  in  their  farm  work.  There  is 
no  need  of  this.  It  is  a  sure  indication  of  incompetency- 
Haying  and  harvest  is  generally  considered  a  very  busy, 
dreaded  time.  I  could  never  see  any  difference,  merely  em- 
ploying more  help  then,  — beforehand  of  course.  I  was  always 
pushing  my  work,  Winter,  Spring,  Summer  or  Fall,  and  to  me 
it  was  haying  and  harvesting  all  the  year  round,  so  far  as  being 
busy  was  concerned.  Nor  could  I  ever  find  time  to  get  away. 
In  pushing  my  work  I  always  anticipated  its  scope.  When  the 
corn  was  ready  to  cut,  I  hired  extra  help  and  cut  and  husked 
it  rapidly,  the  regular  month  men  cribbing  it  and  stacking  the 
fodder,  and  as  soon  as  done  beginning  the  Fall-plowing  (clay 
ground)  before  it  should  freeze  up.  I  always  had  my  crops  in 
on  time,  anticipating  the  time  and  work.  For  example,  it 
would  take  one  drill  a  certain  number  of  days  to  put  in  sixty 
acres.  I  always  commenced  at  it  early,  ahead  of  time,  to  antici- 
pate unforeseen  delays,  or  bad  weather.  Once  I  was  remon^ 
strated  with,  that  the  weather  was  too  bad  (being  damp  and 
even  slightly  drizzling)  to  do  good  drilling.  I  replied,  "So 
long  as  the  ground  is  not  too  damp  to  cover  the  grain  pretty 
well,  I  must  keep  on,  or  it  may  be  yet  even  worse  and  make  the 
last  of  the  crop  late."  I  kept  on  so  several  days,  finally  finished, 
when  the  weather  became  rainy  for  several  days ;  it  was  about 
the  close  of  seeding  time  too,  but  the  crop  was  in  and  did 
finely. 

SKILLFULLY  D1HECTING  HIRED   HELP. 

My  experience  and  observation  is,  that  lack  of  this  is  one 
of  the  most  common  causes  why  farms  employing  hired  help  do 
not  pay  better.  I  was  always  first  on  the  ground,  and  last  to 
leave  it.  I  would  not  allow  talking  while  at  work,  but  was 


£92  ASHTABULA  COUNTY,  OHIO. 

never  dictatorial.  If  a  quiet  hint  to  a  talker  did  not  answer, 
his  services  were  not  considered  desirable.  I  always  set  my 
men  an  example  in  everything,  and  expected  them  to  do  like- 
wise-, deeming  it  unnecessary  to  lord  it  over  them  to  obtain 
respect.  There  is  a  certain  happy  medium  between  extremes 
in  the  treatment  of  help.  There  is  a  way  of  inspiring  respect, 
by  the  proper  course  of  conduct.  I  never  call  James  Jones, 
Jim  nor  Mr.  Jones,  both  extremes  with  farm  employees,  but 
Jones.  This  is  neither  familiar,  nor  over-done. 

I  watch  everything  closely  as  possible,  without  seeming  to 
to  do  so.  If  the  least  thing  went  wrong,  I  noticed  it,  and 
the  person  sooner  or  latter  became  aware  of  it.  Even  if  the 
hired  help  were  scattered  over  the  farm,  my  eye  was  on  them, 
An  amusing  case,  illustrating  this,  was  that  of  several  men  cul- 
tivating corn  some  distance  off,  whom,  as  it  was  very  hot,  I 
directed  to  rest  their  horses  often  but  not  long.  Going  down 
to  the  field  within  a  couple  of  hours  after,  when  I  came  in  sight 
they  were  resting  according  to  orders  ;  and  started  their  teams 
again  before  I  reached  the  ground.  They  were  told  that  they 
hud  stopped  too  long  at  a  time.  I  was  met  by  a  puzzled,  inquir- 
ing expression,  but  replied,  that  "  to  wait  until  the  sun 
•dried  the  fresh  earth  in  the  last  row,  was  too  long  !  "  No  ex- 
ceptions were  taken  to  this  ruling !  The  explanation  was 
no  doubt  satisfactory. 

My  experience  is,  that  success  in  directing  hired  help,  and 
farm  management  in  general,  lies  in  constant  personal  attention 
to  details.  Direct  them  to  be  and  see  that  they  are  attended  to. 
Also,  keep  help  at  work  that  will  return  a  profit,  like  cropping. 
There  is  too  much  other  work  about  a  farm  that  men  are  often 
put  at,  which  brings  no  returns. 

SYSTEM    IN   MANAGEMENT. 

This,  is  truly  half  the  battle.  My  plan  was  always  to 
have  everj-thing  move  like  clock-work,  as  nearly  as  possible, 
by  which  I  could  always  get  much  more  work  done  by  a  lot  of 
farm  laborers.  For  example,  when  I  took  my  string  of  half  a 
dozen  teams  and  their  drivers  to  haul  out  wood,  I  took  my 


MANAGEMENT  OF  HELP  G93 

dinner-pail  with  the  rest  and  engaged  passage  on  tho  front 
team.  Arriving  at  the  wood-piles  scattered  through  the  clear- 
ing among  stumps  and  brush,  instead  of  allowing  each  one  to 
look  out  and  load  for  himself,  the  five  remaining  teamsters  camo 
forward  and  helped  me  and  the  first  team.  In  five  minutes  it 
was  off.  The  four  remaining  then  helped  load  the  second,  and 
it  was  quickly  off.  So  on,  until  finally  the  last  one  had  only 
myself  to  help  him  load.  When  he  was  off  I  had  just  time  to 
look  out  a  place  for  the  first  to  drive  up  and  load.  I  would  cut 
off  a  log,  throw  open  a  pile,  or  take  off  part  of  its  end,  and  so  on. 
If  it  was  still  a  difficult  spot  to  reach  among  stumps  and  piles^ 
or  where  by  setting  his  wagon  or  sled  in  a  certain  position,  he 
could  load  quicker,  or  start  much  easier,  I  met  the  team, 
jumped  on,  took  the  lines,  and  without  stopping,  dropped  into 
position  I  had  got  ready  for  it.  I  never  found  a  teamster  who 
could  drive  in  or  round  a  difficult  place  better  than  I,  and 
much  delay  and  breakage  were  saved  by  doing  it  myself. 
At  the  end  of  the  route  where  they  unloaded  I  always  placed 
a  reliable  foreman  to  see  that  they  unloaded  and  did  not 
delay.  This  party's  idle  time  between  loads  was  put  in  piling. 
In  this  way  a  stream  of  wood  poured  out  ceaselessly 
all  day,  and  we  got  much  accomplished.  The  principle  of  this 
illustration  I  always  carried  out  in  all  my  farm  work. 

IMPROVING   APPEARANCE  OF   FARMS. 

Some  people  do  this  at  great  expense.  My  plan  was,  if  a 
fence  needed  moving  or  rebuilding  to  take  several  men  and 
superintended  the  operation  in  person.  It  is  work  easily 
"soldiered"  at.  Besides,  I  laid  the  "worm"  straight  and 
rapidly,  working  systematically.  I  expected  a  man  to  handle  a 
rail  as  quickly  as  I ;  and  they  were  ashamed  to  be  very  much 
slower.  I  meant  business  when  I  worked, was  never  spasmodical, 
every  day  being  the  same  with  me.  On  taking  a  new  piece  to 
begin  the  rotation,  turning  in  all  hands  I  set  a  fence  out  from 
its  nest  of  weeds  in  short  order,  and  plowed  it  up  with  the 
field.  The  three  years  of  crops  killed  the  weeds,  and  it  only 
cost  setting  over  the  fence.  So  of  stumps,  or  other  unsightly 


694  ASHTABULA   COUNTY,  OHIO. 

things.  Every  stump  that  the  two  yoke  of  oxen,  doubled, 
could  pull  out,  without  delay  or  repeated  working,  was  quickly 
taken  out  and  burned.  Such  as  would  not  come  out,  no  time 
was  lost  on  trying  to  dig  them  out.  but  they  were  left  to  decay. 
If  a  fence  rail  got  out  of  place  I  put  it  back  myself  when 
passing.  If  a  corner  sagged,  or  length  was  plainly  out  of  line, 
sometime  in  passing  with  several  men  it  was  lifted  in  a  moment 
to  its  place.  Pieces  of  rubbish  I  picked  up  and  did  not 
allow  them  to  begin  to  litter  up  a  place,  whether  about  the 
farm  house,  barns,  or  other  buildings.  It  is  easy  to  keep 
every  thing  looking  neat,  if  you  only  try. 

CLAY    SOILS. 

I  always  plowed  my  corn-stubble  ground  for  oats  in  the 
Fall,  hurrying  off  the  corn  for  that  purpose.  The  frost  disin- 
tegrates or  slacks  the  hard  clay  lumps  into  a  mellow  ash  heap. 
The  frost  does  all  this  work  for  you,  and  far  better  than  you 
can  mellow  it  if  Spring-plowed,  though  you.  harrow  it  all  Sum- 
mer. Besides,  you  get  your  oats  in  a  month  earlier  in  our  lati- 
tude (Northern  Ohio),  and  they  get  a  start  ahead  of  weeds  and 
grow  rank.  The  effect  of  Fall  plowing  of  claj's  I  found  to  be 
fully  equal  to  manuring,  if  not  more.  I  have  thus  got  oats  in 
as  early  as  last  days  of  February  —  unprecedented  in  that 
latitude,  Even  if  the  ground  should  freeze  some  after  that,  it 
won't  hurt  them.  This  always  gave  me  more  time  in  Spring 
for  corn  plowing,  etc.  Indeed,  driving  my  farm  work,  or  an- 
ticipating it  in  these  wa}rs,  al\va3*s  seemed  to  make  it  easier,  and 
I  got  so  much  more  done  with  a  small  force  of  regular  hands.  Yet 
the  farmers  alongside,  who  saw  this  constantly  done,  are  to-day 
letting  their  corn  stand  unhusked.  for  cold  winter  work,  its 
fodder  spoiling  :  they  Spring  plow  clay  corn  stubble  for  oats, 
get  the  seed  in  late  if  a  rainy  Spring,  and  secure  a  small  crop, 
even,  if  dry,  thus  crowding  every  Spring  to  get  both  oat  and 
corn  plowing  done. 

FOOT-ROT  IX   SHEEP. 

When  superintending  the  farm  of  fifteen  hundred  acres,  I 
had  a  flock  of  twelve  hundred  grade  sheep.  They  had  the 


CURE  OF  FOOT- ROT.  695 

foot-rot  badly.  It  was  the  same  with  flocks  generally  in  the 
neighborhood,  and  their  owners,  disheartened  with  repeated 
attempts  to  cure  them,  were  selling  out  and  buying  new.  This 
flock  was  of  Merinos,  and  highly  valued  by  the  owner.  The 
common  remedy  was  the  application  of  a  solution  of  blue  vit- 
riol, swabbed  on  after  paring  the  hoof  properly.  I  became  con- 
vinced that  the  manner  of  applying  the  remedy  was  wrong,  not 
the  remedy  itself;  in  other  words,  that  they  were  not  thorough 
in  applying  it.  Swabbing  did  not  always  reach  every  crevice 
or  spot  in  the  hoof.  I  built  a  small  box-pen  that  would  hold 
just  four  sheep  packed  in  solid  like  spoons,  so  that  they  could 
not  move  round  ;  made  each  end  a  door,  and  put  a  water-tight 
box  of  same  size,  a  foot  high,  in  the  bottom.  Into  this  I  poured 
a  solution  of  the  vitriol  deep  enough  to  reach  above  the  hoofs. 
I  conveyed  steam  from  a  large  iron  kettle  through  a  tin  pipe  into 
this,  to  keep  it  as  warm  as  we  could  bear  our  fingers  in.  We 
had  a  thorough-going,  faithful  Scotch  shepherd  in  charge  of 
the  flock.  I  had  the  sheep  held  in  front  of  him,  feet  upwards. 
lie  sat  and  pared  the  feet  of  each  one.  One  finished,  it  was 
removed,  and  a  second  attendant  supplied  its  place  with  an- 
other, and  so  on.  In  this  way  he  never  left  his  seat  or  lost  a 
moment.  Every  sheep  went  through  his  inspection  and  opera- 
tion. I  could  trust  him  implicitly,  in  his  thoroughness.  By  this 
little  system  he  handled,  single-handed,  the  flock,  large  as  it 
was,  rapidly.  After  he  was  through  with  each  sheep  it  was 
stood  in  the  solution.  Four  filled  the  pen,  and  when  the  fifth 
was  ready  the  first  was  let  out,  and  so  on.  In  this  way  each 
sheep  stood  in  the  warm  solution  about  fifteen  minutes.  It  is 
needless  to  say  the  remedy  was  thus  applied  in  a  very  thor- 
ough way,  practical  for  the  handling  of  a  large  flock.  Oh  the 
second  application  the  disease  had  almost  entirely  disappeared. 
The  third  wiped  it  all  out. 

FAllM  ACCOUNTS. 

I  found  it  impossible  to  carry  on  farm  operations  by  hired 
help,  without  keeping  accounts  with  every  thing.  Nor  did  I 
find  it  absolutely  necessary  to  be  skilled  in  book-keeping.  The 


C96  ASHTABULA  COUNTY,  OHIO. 

simpler  accounts  are,  the  better  and  more  practical.  I  had  a 
simple  system  of  my  own.  I  did  not  have  a  complete  inventory  of 
stock,  valuation  of  farm,  etc.,  but  merely  used  a  common  account 
book  with  a  Dr.  and  Cr.  column,  in  which  I  opened  an  account 
with  each  crop,  as  corn,  oats,  wheat,  potatoes,  and  hay,  and 
with  the  stock,  as  cattle,  sheep,  and  hogs.  Also,  several  gen- 
eral accounts,  as  wages  paid  hired  help,  or,  briefly,  hired 
help,  where  I  entered  sum  total  of  wages  paid  each  day,  mis- 
cellaneous expenses,  miscellaneous  work,  household  supplies, 
repairs,  and  improvements.  This  is  about  all  that  is  needed  to 
keep  a  very  complete  run  of  all  your  farm  operations ; 
though  other  accounts  may  suggest  themselves,  and  you  can  go 
more  into  detail  each  year,  as  you  realize  its  benefits.  Of 
course  I  kept,  also,  an  individual  account  with  each  hired  man. 

My  account  with  a  crop  of  sixty  acres  of  oats,  one 
year  (twenty-four  hundred  bushels),  showed  its  cash  cost  to 
be  fifteen  cents  per  bushel,  viz:  seven  and  one-half  cents 
wages  paid  the  men  on  each  bushel,  four  and  one-half  cents 
cost  of  seed  for  each  bushel,  and  three  cents  per  bushel  for 
threshing.  We  sold  them  for  "thirty-two  cents  per  bushel.  I 
never  add  cost  of  boarding  help,  time  of  team  (your  own), 
wear  on  implements,  and  interest  on  cost  of  the  land.  All  that 
is  a  refinement  in  accounts  that  renders  them  impracticable  for 
the  every  day  farmer,  but  charge  the  whole  in  general  accounts 
against  the  total  receipts  of  the  farm  for  the  year.  This  gives 
the  grand  result  and  from  the  general  and  detailed 
accounts  you  can  figure  further  at  the  end  of  the  year,  on 
the  investment,  if  you  wish ;  but  if  you  keep  the  above 
simple  accounts,  you  can  easily  keep  the  run  of  what  you  are 
doing. 

I  also  had  a  practical  and  easy  way  of  my  own  for  keep- 
ing these  accounts,  the  want  of  which  is  the  principal  reason 
why  many  keep  no  accounts  at  all  of  farm  operations.  I  carried 
in  a  long  pocket-book  slips  of  foolscap,  cut  two  and  one-half 
by  six  inches  long,  for  my  "  field  notes,"  or  memorandums. 
Each  morning,  at  the  head  of  one  of  these  slips  (see  sample  be- 
low), T  put  the  date,  and  A.  M.  for  the  first  half  of  the  day, 


KEEPING  OF  ACCOUNTS  697 

using  a  lead  pencil,  with  a  rubber  head  to  erase  the  mistakes- 
From  there  down,  on  the  left  hand  side,  I  wrote  the  last  names 
of  the  hired  men,  not  alphabetically,  but  in  groups,  according- 
to  the  work  different  squads  or  persons  were  put  at.  Some 
would  be  set  to  cultivating  corn,  some  attending  sheep,  and  some 
cattle,  some  cutting  wheat,  some  haying,  some  repairing,  others 
doing  miscellaneous  work  that  did  not  come  under  any  particu- 
lar head,  as  chores,  hauling  water  and  straw.  A  bracket  mark 
showed  who  composed  each  group  or  detail,  and  an  entry  was 
made  opposite  each,  noting  the  work  each  was  at.  If,  after 
quarter  of  a  day,  any  or  all  changed  to  other  work,  the  figure 
i  was  then  annexed,  meaning  they  were  engaged  at  that  work 
quarter  of  a  day  ;  and  a  word  or  two,  as,  hay  i,  etc.,  indicated 
what  they  worked  at  the  other  quarter  day  up  to  noon.  In  the 
afternoon,  P.  M.  was  put  in  the  middle  of  the  slip,  and  the  list 
of  men  again  penciled  down,  at  noon-time,  according  as 
the  work  had  shaped  during  the  forenoon,  for  the  last  half  of 
the  day  ;  or  according  as  decided  for  the  afternoon's  opeia- 
tions.  Toward  evening,  in  the  field,  as  leisure  occurred,  I 
turned  the  slip  over  and  made  headings  of  sheep,  hay,  com, 
repairs,  and  miscellaneous  work,  according  to  what  was  done 
and  noted  on  the  slip  during  the  day.  Then  the  names  of  the 
men  and  the  length  of  time  they  worked  during  the  day  on 
each  crop  or  job  (usually  not  less  fractions  than  quarters  of  a 
day),  were  set  down  under  these  headings  according  as  they 
had  respectively  been  employed,  and  their  wages  for  the  time 
engaged  at  each  employment  carried  out.  If  a  man's  wages^ 
working  at  so  many  dollars  per  month,  came  to  thirty  and  ten- 
thirteenths  cents  for  the  half  day,  or  proportionally  for  a  quarter 
of  a  day,  I  carried  it  out  so,  to  the  very  fraction  of  a  cent, 
and  entered  it  for  the  part  of  the  day  he  worked  on  that 
crop  under  its  heading,  and  that  of  any  others  similarly 
employed.  It  was,  in  effect,  simply  charging  the  corn  or  hay 
crop,  etc.,  with  the  wages  expended  on  it  for  the  day.  I  then 
added  up  the  wages  paid  for  the  day  on  each  crop  or  job,  and 
set  it  a  little  to  the  right,  where,  adding  up  these  different 
sums,  showed  the  sum  total  of  wages  paid  for  the  day,  and  on. 


698 


ASHTABULA  COUNTY,  OHIO. 


what.  At  night,  all  I  had  to  do  was  to  transfer  these  amounts 
to  my  general  account  book,  charging  each  corresponding  crop 
or  account — the  work  of  but  a  few  moments;  or,  if  I  had 
not  the  time,  any  evening,  I  kept  the  slips  till  a  leisure 
hour,  or  even  the  end  of  the  week.  They  constitute  your 
journal,  or  day-book.  In  adding  up  the  different  amounts 
carried  out  against  each  crop,  etc.,  to  the  right,  on  3'our  slips,  if 
the  sum  total  does  not  every  da}  come  out  alike  (absentees, 
etc.,  deducted),  you  know  there  is  an  error  somewhere  to 
look  for.  Thus  you  prove  the  account  of  each  day's  work 
and  amount  charged  against  each  crop  or  account,  to  be  correct 
and  free  from  errors.  These  slips  (or  pages  in  a  pocket  mem- 
orandum book)  should  be  preserved. 

I  give  a  few  actual  examples,  showing  both  sides  of  ona 
slip  or  page : 


FRONT. 

BACK.] 

JULY  15,  A.  M. 

Corn. 

Augustine,  {  ^^.^e.s'etc'2  *M*' 

Payne, 
Stires, 

.169-2fic. 
.174-13 

Roach—  Tedding  and'raking  liav. 
Stewart—  Misi-eilaneons  work  ierratiti«,  err.) 

Mason, 
Lanjrtry, 

.31  1-4 

:.si  1-4 

OR  A.  OR 

Wines—  Ou  house,  garden,  aud  stmbtocbanst 

.  JL)  4-^.U 

SttfeN  I  Haull"P- 

Sheep. 

Mason.     )  Mo  wing 

Minks. 

.15  5-13 

J.aiijury.  >    away         ir-n-tni.        Ha7  Pnt  ln 

Minks,     Jin  i.ani.    r  v  S'iv     1        lower 
Dyer—  Horse  fork.        •*  "**•        sheei>  barn. 

Misc.  VFork. 

Stokes—  Hand  rake. 

Dyr. 

J.ang.  J  Pitching  in 

Stokes, 

.12  1-2 

Butts.  J       field.         J 

Butts, 

.155-13 

Payne.    1 

Liinir, 

.31  1-4 

Stires,      i  Working 
klaxon,     l     corn. 

S'«  wart, 
Gliues, 

.25 
.51  12-13 

1.36  3-53 

Langtry,  ) 
Minks—  Sheep.            ,  X  day. 

Dyer—  Cut'ng  weeds.  I 

Hay. 

Stokes.     )  Hoeing 

Augustine, 

1.00 

Langtry,  ^i,otatoes. 

Pavne, 

.493-26 

Butts,      )                    j 

Stires, 

.M  2-13 

Mason, 

.93  3-4 

p.  ir. 

Langtry, 

.«:•»  3-4 

Minks. 

.4  fid-  13 

•S  tires,          ) 
Payne,         >  Hauling  and  mowing  in  field. 
Augustine,  i 
RiKu-ii—  Unking,  and  in  the  mow. 

Glines, 
Dyer. 

l-ang. 
Roa<  h, 

.1?  4  13 
,7S 
.31  1-4 
I.«S 

Lanctrv    \  ^n  "1C  mow>  '"  I)arn- 

):ntts. 

.4H2-13 

Glines—  In  the  mow  K<lay;  misc.  work  K  day. 
Jintrs.    ) 
Minks.  !-In  field,  pitching. 
Stokes.  ) 

Stoke«. 
Stewart, 

Absentees 

.37  1-2 
.25 

7.91  43-52 

S'ewarr—  Water  hoy. 

Ling, 

.62  1-2 

Dyer—  Ho-  se  fork. 

Sate, 

1.25 

I^ang-Sick. 
Rose—  Sick,  all  day,  not  at  work. 

J12.51  12-13 

METHOD  OP  FARMING.  699 

W.  G.  HUSCROFT, 

STEUBENVILLE,  JEFFEHSON  COUNTY. 

Methods — Clover — Feed  for  Milch  Cows  —  Farm  Receipts  and 

Expenses. 

LOCATION  OF  .MY  FARM. 

My  farm  is  situated  on  the  State  road  leading  from  Steuben- 
ville  to  Cambridge,—  two  miles  from  the  former  city,  and  the 
Ohio  river,  and  on  the  high  land,  about  five  hundred  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  river.  The  soil  is  mostly  sugar  tree  and  black 
walnut,  but  there  is  some  white  oak  and  beech  subsoil  and 
limestone  clay. 

It  lies  mostly  to  the  south,  and  the  natural  crop  is  blue 
grass.  My  farm  contains  one  hundred  and  fourteen  acres, 
which  have  been  under  cultivation  about  seventy  years. 

METHOD. 

My  method  of  farming  is  as  follows :  A  sod  is  broken  up 
in  the  Spring  and  well  top  dressed  with  stable  manure,  then 
planted  in  corn.  The  next  Spring  it  is  planted  in  oats,  and  in 
the  Fall  again  top  dressed  with  a  mixture  of  about  twenty-five 
two-horse  wagon  loads  of  stable  manure  and  one  bushel  of 
common  salt.  The  ground  is  then  thoroughly  pulverized  with 
the  harrow  and  roller,  and  sown  in  wheat  and  timothy. 

Of  the  crop  of  1878,  there  were  in  wheat  twelve  acres, 
sown  with  the  drill,  one  and  one-half  bushels  to  the  acre. 
When  threshed,  there  were  five  hundred  and  ten  bushels  of 
good  clean  wheat,  or  forty-two  and  one-half  bushels  to  the 
acre.  The  variety  was  the  Clawson,  sent  from  the  Agricultural 
Department  at  Washington,  six  years  ago,  weighing  sixty-three 
pounds  to  the  bushel.  Over  two  hundred  bushels  of  this  crop 
I  sold  for  seed.  There  were  nine  hundred  and  five  bushels,  or 
fifty-six  and  one-halt'  bushels  to  the  acre,  of  oats,  from  sixteen 


700  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  OHIO. 

acres  sown  by  the  drill  at  the  rate  of  two  bushels  to  the  acre. 

From  four  acres  of  Hungarian  grass  sown  on  the  twentieth 
of  May,  I  harvested  fifteen  tons  of  hay  on  the  twentieth  of 
July.  I  had  in  my  timothy  meadow  twelve  acres,  which  pro- 
duced twenty-four  tons  of  hay  and  twelve  bushels  of  seed. 

CLOVEB. 

From  eight  acres  of  clover  I  harvested  twenty  tons  of  hay 
for  my 'first  crop.  The  second  crop  yielded  eleven  and  one- 
half  bushels  of  seed. 

I  planted  eight  acres  in  corn,  the  ground  being  thoroughly 
pulverized  with  the  harrow  and  roller.  I  planted  on  the  tenth 
of  May,  in  rows  three  and  one-half  feet  apart,  with  a  drill,  drop- 
ping one  grain  every  twelve  inches.  The  amount  of  corn  in  the 
ear,  measured  in  the  crib,  was  one  thousand  and  twenty-six 
bushels.  Corn  planted  in  this  way  produces  large  ears  in  place 
of  so  many  small  ones. 

POTATOES. 

I  had  four  acres  in  potatoes,  but,  the  season  being  unfavor- 
able, the  yield  was  small,  amounting  to  but  five  hundred  and 
ten  bushels.  My  method  of  planting  potatoes  is  to  heavily 
manure  the  ground,  then  plow  about  eight  inches  deep,  and 
work  down  with  a  harrow  and  roller.  The  ground  I  then  run 
out  in  rows  three  feet  apart,  and  drop  the  potatoes,  two  pieces 
in  a  place,  two  feet  apart,  and  cover  them  with  the  hoe  two 
inches  deep. 

I  usually  plant  one  acre  the  first  week  in  April ;  the  re- 
mainder about  the  middle  of  May.  This  insures  me  a  full  crop. 

SWEET  CORN. 

I  put  in  one  acre  of  sweet  corn.  It  was  of  the  mammoth 
sugar  variety.  This  acre  produced  about  thirty  dollars  worth 
of  corn,  besides  supplying  three  families.  With  the  corn  were 
ninety -five  loads  of  pumpkins.  These  pumpkins  I  planted 
about  the  first  of  June,  in  every  other  row  of  corn,  about  six 
feet  apart  in  the  ro\vs.  I  had  sixty-five  acres  in  the  crops,  and 
left  forty-nine  acres  of  pasture  for  the  stock. 


FEEDING  COWS  — BUILDINGS.  701 

HORSES. 

I  keep  six  horses  to  do  the  work  of  my  farm.  Last  year 
they  hauled  one  hundred  and  fifty  loads  of  manure  from  the  city. 

BERKSHIRES. 

Last  year  I  raised  eighteen  Berkshire  hogs,  worth  eight 
dollars  a  piece,  and  ten  sheep,  on  my  place.  My  sheep  raised 
fourteen  lambs,  and  I  clipped  one  hundred  and  ten  pounds  of 
clean,  washed  wool.  I  have  forty  milch  cows,  which  produce 
an  average  of  eighty-one  gallons  of  milk  per  day.  This  milk 
I  haul  to  town,  where  I  receive  an  average  of  twenty  cents  per 
gallon  for  it. 

FEEDING  MILCH   COWS. 

The  produce  of  six  days  I  take  to  town  and  sell,  but  that 
of  the  seventh  I  keep  to  make  butter  for  the  family.  My  cows 
are  tied  in  the  stable  to  be  milked  and  fed.  A  small  engine  is 
attached  to  the  stable,  by  which  all  the  feed  is  steamed.  This 
engine  runs  a  machine  which  cuts  all  the  hay  and  straw,  also 
a  pair  of  burrs  which  grind  the  corn  all  in  the  ear.  Equal 
portions  of  this  meal  and  mill-feed  are  taken,  mixed  with  the 
cut  hay  and  straw,  and  all  steamed  together.  The  pumpkins 
are  also  steamed.  Three  pecks  of  this  mixture  are  fed  to  each 
cow  twice  a  day,  after  which  a  little  dry  hay.  In  the  Winter, 
fodder  is  fed  to  them  in  the  barn  yard  in  the  middle  of  the 
day,  at  which  time  in  Summer  they  are  turned  into  pasture. 

BUILDINGS. 

My  house  is  brick  with  stone  trimmings.  It  is  forty  feet 
wide  in  front  by  sixty-four  feet  in  depth  and  twenty-seven  feet 
high.  In  front  there  are  two  bay  windows,  with  a  veranda  be- 
tween them.  From  this  veranda  a  hall,  twelve  feet  wide,  runs 
through  the  house,  on  one  side  of  which,  on  the  first  floor,  are 
three  rooms,  and  on  the  other  three  rooms  and  a  washhouse. 
Up-stairs  there  are  four  rooms  on  each  side  of  this  hall.  My 
house  is  all  finished  with  lumber  cut  from  the  farm,  black  and 
white  walnut  and  ash,  tastefully  combined,  and  polished  and 
varnished.  The  roof  is  of  slate.  A  cellar  runs  under  the 


702  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  OHIO. 

whole  house,  and  at  the  kitchen  door  is  a  good  well.  Under 
the  wash  house  there  is  a  cistern  twelve  feet  wide  by  twelve 
feet  deep. 

My  spring  house  is  built  of  brick,  and  is  fourteen  feet  wide 
by  sixteen  feet  long.  It  has  a  floor  of  cement,  and  the  water 
runs  all  over  it.  Here  the  milk  is  placed  to  cool  before  it  is 
taken  to  town. 

There  are  three  small  houses  for  the  hired  men,  who  each 
have  a  house  and  garden  free. 

My  cow-barn  is  fifty-four  feet  long,  thirty-eight  feet  wide, 
and  twenty-four  feet  high.  It  is  divided  so  as  to  hold  four 
rows  of  cows,  t\vo  rows  facing  each  other,  divided  by  a  gang- 
way, from  which  the}*  are  fed.  The  room  above  I  make  use 
of  for  storing  hay.  I  have  the  stable  cleaned  out  every  day, 
the  manure  and  urine  being  run  out  together,  while  the  cows 
are  absent,  and  a  good  bed  of  straw  is  allowed  to  each  cow. 

My  grain  barn  is  sixty  by  forty  feet  and  twenty-four  feet 
high.  It  is  a  bank  barn  with  a  horse  stable  underneath,  and  is 
fitted  up  with  a  hay  fork  for  unloading. 

FENCES. 
The  fences  on  my  farm  are  mostly  board  and  wire. 

PRODUCTS    OF   THE   FARM. 

510  bushels  wheat  at  81.00  per  bushel,  $510  CO 
905  bushels  oats  at  25  cents  per  bushel,  226  25 
15  tons  Hungarian  hay  at  $3.00  per  ton,  120  00 
24  tons  timothy  hay  at  $-8.00  per  ton,  192  00 
20  tons  of  clover  hay  at  $G.OO  per  ton,  120  00 
11^  bush,  clover  seed  at  $5.00  per  bush.  57  50 
1005  bushels  corn  at  22  cents  per  bushel,  221  10 
500  bushel  potatoes  at  50  cts.  per  bushel,  250  00 
Crop  of  one  acre  of  sweet  corn,  -  -  80  00 
18  hogs  at  $8.00  per  head,  144  00 

110  pounds  of  wool  at  35  cts.  per  pound,  38  50 
14  lambs  at  $2.50  per  head,  35  00 

Milk,   -  •  4,682  35 

Total,     •  -    $G.G2t>  70 


EXPENSES  AND  PROFITS.  703 

EXPENSES. 

Two  boys  at  815.00  per  month,  $360  00 

Three  men  at  8300.00  per  year,  -  -  900  00 

25  tons  mill  feed  at  $15.00  per  ton,  -  375  00 
GOO  bu.  ear  corn  bought  at  22  cents  per 

bushel,  -  132  00 

18  bu.  seed  wheat  at  $1 .00  per  bushel,  -  18  00 
905  bushels  oats  raised  and  fed,  at  25 

cents  per  bushel,  -  -  226  25 

Hungarian  seed  sown,  -  -  6  00 

Timothy  and  clover  seed  sown,  -  28  00 
40  bushels  seed  potatoes  at  $1.00  per 

bushel,  -  -  -  40  00 

Threshing  and  extra  hands,  -  -  44  00 
Corn  1005  bushels  raised  and  fed,  at  22 

cents  per  bushel,  -  221  10 
24  tons  timothy,  20  tons  clover,  15  tons 

Hungarian  hay,  -  432  00 

Repairs  and  taxes,  -  215  00 

Total,  -  -  -  •  -  -  $2,997  35 


Total  receipts,       -  $6,626  70 

Total  expenses,  -       2,997  35 

Net  profits,  -        $3,629  35 


704  COLUMBIANA  COUNTY,  OHIO. 

B.  0.  STANLEY, 

DAMASCONVILLE,   COLUMBIANA  COUNTY. 

Fruit     Growing —  Tiro   Methods —  Reasons    for    Failures  — 
Birds   Cur  Best  Friends. 

FRUIT    GROWING. 

"  Have  you  seen  tbe  orchard  neighbor  B.  set  out  last 
week  ?  I  really  believe  he  thinks  he  can  beat  me  in  growing 
fruit.  He  has  planted  out  four  hundred  apple  trees,  besides 
several  hundred  peach  and  pear,  cherry,  plum,  etc.  Of  apples 
he  plants  but  ten  varieties,  while  in  my  orchard,  planted  at  the 
same  time,  and  with  the  same  number  of  trees,  I  have  some 
fifty  varieties.  I  think  Mr.  B.  is  missing  it  badly.  Why, 
before  he  planted  the  trees,  lie  had  two  teams  plowing,  one 
following  after  the  other,  '  subsoiling,'  I  believe  he  calls  it; 
and  after  he  got  it  plowed,  he  fooled  days  getting  the  ground 
ready  to  plant ;  and  then  again  he  dug  such  large  holes  for  the 
trees.  I  tell  you  it  is  all  nonsense,  and  a  waste  of  time.  I  can 
prepare  ground  and  plant  trees  three  times  as  fast  as  he  can. 
And  you  see  he  has  cut  the  tops  nearly  all  off,  and  trimmed 
them  until  they  look  like  whip-stalks,  and  are  nowhere  by  the 
side  of  mine,  with  nice  tops,  and  look  as  though  they  might 
bear  fruit  next  year.  I  intend  to  show  him,  with  my  list  of 
varieties  and  large  trees,  that  in  ten  years  I  will  have  made,  or 
have  my  trees  in  shape  to  make,  more  money  out  of  my  orchard 
than  he  has,  or  will  have  made  out  of  his." 

SECOND   PART. 

It  is  ten  }*ears  since  the  above  orchards  were  planted  out. 
The  trees  were  procured  from  the  same  nursery,  at  the  same 
time,  and  all  were  of  same  age  and  quality.  I  visit  Mr.  A,  of 
the  first  part,  and  a*k  him  about  his  orchard,  fruit  prospects, 
etc.  "  I  see  you  are  picking  your  apples." 


FRUIT  GROWING  A  FAILURE.  705 

"  Well,  yes ;  trying  to  get  a  few,  but  they  do  not  amount 
to  much." 

"  I  believe  it  was  ten  years  ago  last  Spring  that  you  set 
your  trees.  You  had  four  hundred  apple,  and  a  lot  of  peach, 
pear,  cherry,  etc.  Where  are  your  peach  trees?" 

"All  gone,  long  ago.  One-fourth  of  them  never  grew  at 
all,  were  dead  when  I  got  them  ;  the  remainder  dwindled  along, 
and  finally  died  out.  I  never  got  any  thing  out  of  them." 

"  Did  you  cultivate  and  tend  your  trees  after  you  planted 
them?" 

"  I  had  oats  there  the  first  year,  then  seeded  down,  and 
mowed  or  pastured  ever  since.  I  think  that  the  best  method  I 
could  pursue  with  them." 

"Did  you  ever  examine  them  and  get  the  borers  out  of 
them?" 

"  No  ;  guess  they  never  had  any  ;  trees  never  grew  right. 
Don't  think  they  were  good.  I  believe  the  nurseryman  knew 
they  were  not.  I  got  a  lot  more  since,  and  they  all  went  the 
same  way.  Won't  do  any  good  in  these  parts." 

"  Well,  how  about  your  apple  trees  ?  How  are  you  mak- 
ing it  with  them?  " 

"  The  apple  trees  have  done  a  little  better.  About  one- 
half  of  the  trees  that  I  first  planted  are  alive  yet,  and  bearing 
a  few  small  apples,  such  as  you  see.  They  are  not  very  good ; 
there  are  a  few  trees  of  certain  varieties  that  do  much  better 
than  the  others." 

"  How  many  bushels  of  apples  have  you  sold  from  your 
orchard  since  it  commenced  bearing?  " 

"  Have  not  sold  any.  I  have  probably  had,  altogether, 
about  one  hundred  bushels — some  good,  but  most  of  them 
inferior.  It  is  not  a  paying  investment.  I  have  had  to  keep 
filling  in  with  trees  every  year  since  I  first  planted.  Some  did 
not  grow ,  the  cattle  run  among  them  and  broke  some  of  them 
down.  The  mice  girdled  some,  while  others  just  seemed  to 
dwindle  away  and  die." 

"  Did  you  give  them  the  same  care  that  you  gave  the 
peach  trees?" 

45 


706  COLUMBIANA  COUNTY,  OHIO. 

"  Yes,  just  the  same.  Lots  of  my  neighbor's  orchards  go 
the  same  way.  I  think  our  land  and  climate  are  not  adapted 
to  fruit  growing.  It  don't  pay  any  way,  and  if  we  can  get 
enough  for  home  use,  we  do  well." 

THE  OTHER   ORCHARD. 

"  How  about  Mr.  B.'s  orchard,  set  out  at  the  same  time 
you  set  yours  ?  Have  you  visited  it  lately  ?  " 

"  I  was  there  two  years  ago,  in  peach  time.  I  bought 
some  peaches  of  him.  He  had  a  big  crop  that  year ;  guess  he 
has  had  lots  of  peaches  and  apples  from  his  orchard.  I  got  a 
few  bushels  of  apples  of  him  last  year,  which  were  nice,  and 
good  keepers.  I  had  to  pay  him  sixty  cents  per  bushel  for 
them.  I  had  apples  at  home,  but  mine  were  small,  knotty,  and 
not  good  for  any  thing.  I  do  not  see  why  it  is  he  raises  such 
nice,  large,  and  fair  fruit,  while  the  rest  of  us  have  nothing 
but  inferior  fruit.  I  would  like  to  know  the  secret  of  Mr.  B.'s 
success." 

"  Come  with  me,  and  we  will  go  over  and  interview  him 
and  his  fruit.  I  know  you  think  you  have  not  got  time  to  go, 
but  just  get  in  with  me ;  we  need  not  be  gone  over  two  or 
three  hours,  and  probably  we  will  learn  much  of  interest  to  us 
both." 

We  arrived  at  Mr  B.'s,  found  him  in  his  orchard  superin- 
tending the  picking  and  barreling  of  his  apples. 

"  I  see  you  are  busy  with  your  fruit  to-day ;  thought  I 
would  drop  in  and  see  how  your  orchard  was  doing.  I  brought 
neighbor  A.  along  with  me,  as  we  wanted  to  get  a  little  infor- 
mation on  the  secret  of  your  success  in  tree  and  fruit  growing." 
'  "Am  glad  to  see  you,  gentlemen.  I  am  at  home  in  my 
orchard.  I  have  five  men  picking  apples.  I  keep  a  general 
oversight,  so  that  they  do  not  get  the  different  varieties  mixed, 
and  to  look  out  that  nothing  but  nice,  smooth  apples  are  put  in 
the  barrels.  When  these  are  full,  I  head  them  up  and  mark  the 
variety.  They  are  then  ready  to  be  sent  at  once  to  market,  or 
to  the  fruit  house  for  storage  ;  we  can  talk  and  attend  to  this 
all  at  the  same  time." 


SUCCESSFUL  FRUIT  RAISING.  701 

"  How  many  bushels  will  you  have  this  Fall  ?  " 

"  Well,  there  are  four  hundred  trees ;  of  these  there  are 
four  varieties  of  forty  trees'  each,  making  one  hundred  and 
sixty  trees.  There  is  not  a  full  crop  this  year.  They  will  only 
average  about  two  bushels  to  the  tree,  or  three  hundred  and 
twenty  bushels.  The  remaining  two  hundred  and  forty  trees 
will  average  five  bushels  to  the  tree,  or  one  thousand  two  hun- 
dred bushels.  Add  these  to  the  three  hundred  and  twenty 
bushels,  and  I  have  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  twenty 
bushels  from  the  four  hundred  trees." 

"  What  are  they  worth  per  bushel,  or  barrel  ?  " 

"  I  sold  one  thousand  bushels,  the  purchaser  furnishing  the- 
barrels  and  taking  them  from  the  orchard.  He  paid  me  fifty- 
five  cents  per  bushel  for  them.  I  pay  my  pickers  five  cents  a 
bushel  for  picking  and  putting  in  the  barrels.  I  head  them  up  j 
that  leaves  me  just  fifty  cents  per  bushel,  after  paying  for  pick- 
ing, but  I  do  not  count  for  my  time  heading  up,  etc." 

"  Those  you  are  storing  are  as  good  as  what  you  are  sell- 
ing, are  they  ?  " 

"  Certainly,  just  the  same." 

"  Then  your  income  from  your  orchard  this  year  will 
amount  to,  on  apples  sold,  five  hundred  and  fifty  dollars ;  apples 
stored  away,  five  hundred  and  twenty  bushels,  at  fifty-five  cents 
per  bushel,  two  hundred  and  eighty-six  dollars ;  added  to  the 
five  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  gives  eight  hundred  and  thirty- 
six  dollars.  Now  if  you  deduct  cost  of  picking,  at  five 
cents  per  bushel,  you  have  seven  hundred  and  sixty  dollars. 
You  say  the  small  and  faulty  apples  made  up  into  cider  will 
net  you  about  forty  dollars  more,  leaving  the  profits  of  the 
orchard  this  year  at  eight  hundred  dollars.  And  I  see  your 
trees  are  nice  and  thrifty,  and  look  as  though  they  might  con- 
tinue to  bear  for  a  lifetime  yet.  With  a  gradual  increase  in 
size,  the  profits  from  them  will  also  increase.  You  are  satis- 
fied, then,  that  fruit  growing  pays  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,  if  a  man  understands  what  he  is  going  at,  and 
gives  it  proper  attention.  So  many  fail  simply  because  they 
exercise  no  judgment  in  the  matter.  They  think  that  any 


708  COLUMBIANA   COUNTY,  OHIO. 

ignoramus  can  plant  trees  and  raise  fruit.  There  is  where  the 
first  mistake  lies.  The  wants  of  the  trees  must  be  studied 
from  the  time  you  get  them  from  the  nursery,  all  through  their 
different  stages  of  growth.  In  the  first  place  you  must  exer- 
cise judgment  in  selecting  varieties.  Post  yourself  in  this 
matter,  either  by  visiting  the  nearest  bearing  orchards,  and 
obtaining  what  information  you  can  as  to  what  succeeds  best 
and  the  kind  of  soil  that  has  been  planted  on  •,  or,  if  there  is 
no  orchard  near  you  that  is  bearing,  send  and  get  your  State 
Horticultural  Report  and  study  it  well.  You  will  get  a  vast 
amount  of  information  from  it. 

"  Go  to  your  nearest  bookstore  and  spend  a  dollar  or  two 
for  some  work  on  fruitgrowing.  If  there  is  no  such  work  there 
have  one  sent  for.  Or,  if  you  are  not  able  to  do  this,  as  a 
last  resort,  let  the  nurseryman  select  your  varieties.  You  must 
tell  him  the  kind  of  soil  you  are  going  to  plant  in.  Give  him 
the  number  of  Summer,  Fall,  and  Winter  varieties  you  want. 

"  Here  let  me  say,  if  you  want  to  raise  apples  to  sell  and 
make  money,  plant  almost  exclusively  of  good  sized  and  late- 
keeping  Winter  varieties.  My  orchard  is  all  Winter  varieties 
but  forty  trees.  But  other  things  are  essential  besides  varieties. 

"  First,  select  your  location  for  the  orchard.  From  obser- 
vation and  experience,  I  would  say  let  your  ground  be  natur- 
ally dry,  with  a  north  or  northwest  exposure.  Never  plant  on 
a  south,  or  southeast  exposure,  if  you  can  possibly  avoid  it.  I 
know  many  advocate  a  south  or  southeast  exposure  as  being 
the  best,  and  give  as  their  reason  that  the  soil  is  warm,  trees 
start  earlier,  etc.  But  you  do  not  want  your  trees  to  start 
early  in  Spring,  and  then  have  the  buds  killed  by  Spring  frosts. 
Neither  do  you  want  the  sap  started  during  the  warm  spells  of 
weather  that  sometimes  come  during  the  Winter  months.  On 
the  contrary,  you  want  them  kept  back  in  Winter,  and  as  late  in 
the  Spring  as  you  can  hold  them  back.  The  cold  winds  from 
the  north  or  northwest  will  hurt  your  trees'  far  less  than  the 
hot  sun.  Your  location  settled,  next  prepare  your  ground 
thoroughly.  Work  it  up  deep.  Most  soils  will  pay  to  subsoil. 
Before  you  plant,  make  good-sized  holes,  so  as  to  spread  the 


PLANTING  AN  ORCHARD.  709 

roots  out  nicely.  If  any  of  the  larger  roots  are  broken  or 
badly  bruised,  take  a  sharp  knife  and  cut  them  smooth.  Trim 
the  tops,  and  always  keep  them  nicely  balanced  by  cutting  out 
here  and  there  as  they  need  it.  Get  your  trees  in  rows  to 
range  nicely  when  planting.  It  adds  much  to  the  appearance 
of  an  orchard,  and  also  makes  it  easier  to  work  among." 

"  What  distance  apart  would  you  plant?  " 

"  Well,  climate  and  soil  have  much  to  do  in  this  matter.  I 
would  never  plant  closer  than  eighteen  feet  each  way,  and 
there  is  no  necessity  for  farther  than  thirty-two  feet.  I  plant 
twenty-eight  by  thirty  feet.  Out  on  the  open  prairie  I  would 
plant  a  little  closer.  You  must  cultivate  your  trees  for  four  or 
five  years  after  planting.  I  raise  corn  the  first  year.  After 
that,  potatoes,  or  other  hoed  crops,  not  forgetting  to  feed  soil 
with  barnyard  or  other  fertilizers  if  needed.  I  watch  carefully 
every  year  for  any  kind  of  borers  that  are  apt  to  get  about  the 
roots  and  trunk  of  the  trees,  and  cut  them  out  with  a  sharp 
knife.  Wash  the  bodies  of  the  trees  occasionally  with  strong 
soapsuds.  I  do  not  allow  any  kind  of  rubbish  to  accumulate 
against  the  body  of  the  tree,  to  make  harbors  for  mice,  as  they 
will  be  sure  to  girdle  and  kill  some  of  the  trees  in  the  Winter 
months.  I  never  allow  the  sportsman,  with  dog  and  gun,  to 
kill  any  kind  of  birds,  except  it  be  hawks  and  owls  ;  for  the 
birds  are  the  best  friends  I  have  if  I  want  fine  fruit.  They 
destroy  millions  of  insects  and  worms  annually,  that  otherwise 
would  prey  upon  the  trees  and  fruit.  I  invite  the  feathered 
songsters  every  way  to  stay  around  my  orchard.  I  plant  some 
evergreens  around.  I  have  found  it  an  excellent  plan  in  Win- 
ter to  scatter  some  wheat  screenings,  or  seeds  of  some  kind, 
around  in  the  orchard.  By  such  means  I  make  it  attractive  to 
the  birds  the  year  round,  and  it  well  repays  me.  They  may 
occasionally  pick  a  few  apples,  but  they  save  fifty  where  they 
pick  one. 

"  When  my  orchard  was  five  years  old,  I  sowed  it  down  to 
clover,  and  if  not  too  heavy,  cut  it  and  let  it  lie  and  rot  on 
the  ground.  This  is  my  method  of  treating  trees.  I  seldom 
lose  any.  Of  the  four  hundred  first  planted,  I  have  lost  about 


710  GEAUGA  COUNTY,  OHIO. 

thirty,  which  I  replaced  with  others.  Trees  need  to  be 
watched  and  cared  for,  and  they  repay  for  time  and  expense, 
provided  we  have  the  right  varieties.  The  same  treatment 
holds  good  with  peaches  as  well  as  apples.  But  if  trees  are 
neglected,  if  cattle  run  among  them,  they  will  break  and 
destroy  them,  and  soon  the  orchard  is  gone.  I  Avould  say, 
plant  trees,  and  then  take  care  of  them,  and  you  will  be  satis- 
fied with  the  results." 


HARVEY  ROBB, 

MIDDLEPIBLD,   GEAUGA  COUNTY. 

JSoil  —  Cattle  —  Sheep  —  Horses  —  Hogs  —  Fruit  —  Fertilizers 

—  Buildings. 

My  farm  is  situated  on  the  east  and  west  center  road,  and 
consists  of  two  hundred  and  fifteen  acres,  about  one-third  south 
and  two-thirds  north  of  the  road,  the  whole  tract  being  of 
oblong  form. 

SOIL. 

The  soil  is  of  a  sandy  loam,  with  a  very  slight  admixture 
of  clay.  .My  farm  is  about  three-quarters  rolling  upland  and 
about  one-quarter  bottom  land. 

PASTURE  AND   PLOW   LAND. 

I  have  one  hundred  acres  in  cattle  pasture,  besides  three 
small  pastures.  I  mow  about  forty  acres  annually,  I  have 
three  plowed  lots  of  about  eight  acres  each,  on  which  I  raise 
wheat,  corn  and  oats,  and  twenty-six  acres  of  woodland. 

METHOD   OF   CULTIVATION. 

I  break  up  about  eight  acres  for  corn.  The  Spring  follow- 
ing sow  it  to  oats,  and  in  the  Fall  I  plow  under  the  oat  stubble 
and  sow  to  wheat  and  seed  down  to  timothy  and  clover,  which 


FERTILIZERS  —  CATTLE.  711 

I  consider  makes  a  convenient  and  perhaps  judicious  rotation 
of  crops. 

FERTILIZERS. 

I  depend  very  largely  for  fertilizers  on  my  stock  and  barn- 
yard. I  have,  however,  used  some  of  what  is  known  as  Cleve- 
land phosphate,  but  found  little  advantage  from  its  use.  I 
prefer  home  made,  from  the  barn.  In  applying  manure  I  cover 
my  corn  ground  well,  and  plow  it  under.  Then  I  keep  what  is 
left  until  Fall,  to  apply  to  my  wheat  or  to  top  dress  it.  As 
the  result  of  this  kind  of  farming  I  raise  yearly,  from  eighty  to 
one  hundred  bushels  of  ears  of  corn  per  acre,  fifty  to  sixty 
bushels  of  oats  per  acre,  and  about  twenty  bushels  of  wheat,  on 
an  average.  This  is  probably  above  the  average  crops  of  grain 
raised  by  farmers  generally,  as  this  county  is  better  adapted 
to  "stock  raising  and  dairying  than  it  is  to  grain. 

CATTLE. 

For  the  last  two  years  I  have  kept  eighteen  to  twenty 
cows.  I  use  about  half  this  number  to  raise  calves,  and  the 
remainder  I  milk  and  send  their  product  to  the  factory.  My 
profits  from  sending  milk  to  the  factory  for  the  last  two  years, 
have  been  small,  but  when  I  receive  ten  cents  per  pound  for 
cheese,  it  pays  well. 

I  raise  Short-Horn  grades.  I  usually  raise  ten  or  twelve 
calves  each  year.  My  practice  is  to  let  them  suck  night  and 
morning,  giving  a  good  cow  two  calves  and  a  young  cow  but 
one.  Thus  I  raise  some  very  fine  animals,  and  find  that  it 
pays  much  better  than  sending  milk  to  the  factory. 

SHEEP. 

At  present  I  am  not  engaged  in  sheep  raising.  Formerly 
I  kept  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred  sheep,  a 
cross  of  the  Leicester  and  Merino.  This  cross  produced  a  good 
hardy  sheep,  and  a  good  wool  clip. 

HORSES. 

I  am  not  a  "  fast  horse  "  man,  but  I  do  like  a  pair  that  can 
do  a  good  day's  work  on  the  farm,  and  get  up  and  off  when  on 


712  GEAUGA  COUNTY,  OHIO. 

the  road.  I  have  such  a  pair  of  dapple  grays,  that  weigh  about 
thirteen  hundred  pounds  each,  and  they  can  make  it  lively 
sometimes. 

BERKSHIRES. 

The  Berkshire  breed  of  hogs  is  the  best  that  I  ever  tried, 
and  I  keep  that  breed. 

FOWLS. 

I  keep  bronze  turkeys  and  buff  Cochin  chicks. 

FRUIT. 

I  have  only  sufficient  fruit  for  home  use,  such  as  apples, 
peaches,  grapes,  etc.,  and  all  of  the  usual  varieties. 

FENCING. 

For  fencing,  I  like  rail  fence  ;  but  have  some  board  fence 
of  white  oak  boards  one  inch  thick,  six  inches  wide,  four  boards. 
The  fence  is  four  feet  high. 

I  CAERY  ON  THE  FARM 

with  the  help  of  one  man,  whom  I  hire  for  eight  months  at  fifteen 
dollars  per  month,  and  have  him  a  few  days  extra  in  haying 
time  at  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  per  day. 

WELL   WATERED. 

My  farm  is  well  watered  by  a  never  failing  brook,  running 
in  a  southwest  direction,  across  the  eastern  part  of  the  farm. 
There  is  also  a  fine  spring  near  the  house,  which  runs  north  till 
it  intersects  the  brook.  Neither  dry  weather  nor  cold  affects 
this  spring. 

BUILDINGS. 

In  1877  I  built  a  substantial  and  well  arranged  barn,  forty 
by  fifty-eight  feet,  eighteen  feet  posts,  and  basement.  A  bay  at 
each  end  is  seventeen  feet  deep,  with  two  floors  in  the  middle 
twelve  feet  each.  When  the  bays  are  filled,  I  fill  one  floor,  which 
is  the  same  as  one  of  the  bays,  thirty-n,me  by  forty  feet,  so  there 
is  no  waste  room  above.  In  the  basement  there  are  three 
stables,  two  of  them  having  eleven  stanchions  in  each,  the 
other  is  cut  up  into  five  box  stalls,  with  two  cattle  in  each, 
which  are  tied  up.  The  three  stables  hold  thirty-two  head  of 


BUILDINGS.  713 

large  cattle.  The  floor  is  cemented,  with  drains  through  the 
whole  of  it,  two  inches  deep  and  fourteen  inches  wide,  which 
catches  all  the  droppings  and  liquid  manure.  When  the 
manure  is  wheeled  out  in  the  morning,  a  little  sawdust  is  put 
in  the  drains,  which  saves  it  in  good  order.  I  have  a  good  well 
in  the  basement. 

DWELLING  HOUSE. 

My  house  was  all  built  by  the  day,  as  I  did  not  want  any 
job  work  done,  nor  any  poor  materials  used.  I  have  another 
barn  across  the  road  from  the  house,  for  the  use  of  horses  and 
calves.  I  have  a  building  near  the  milking  yard,  which  I 
formerly  used  as  a  cheese  house,  but  now  I  keep  it  for  a  shop. 
I  have  a  granary  fourteen  by  twenty  feet,  but  it  is  not  large 
enough  for  my  wheat,  corn  and  oats. 


O.  WILCOX, 

HINCKLEY,    MEDINA  COUNTY. 

The    Profit    in    a    Small   Farm  —  Fruit — Onions — Stock  — 

Sheep. 

I  have  a  small  farm  of  twenty  acres,  located  in  Hinckley* 
Medina  county,  Ohio.  The  country  here  is  quite  rolling.  The 
soil  is  a  clay  loam,  well  adapted  to  grazing  and  meadows.  But 
a  large  proportion  of  it  has,  through  bad  management,  become 
much  degenerated,  and  hardly  pays  two  per  cent,  on  the  money 
invested. 

I  propose  to  tell  you  how  I  have  supported  my  father^ 
mother,  wife,  and  one  child  on  twenty  acres,  and  have  been 
improving  the  land  and  buildings  all  the  time. 

My  farm  is  nearly  square,  and  divided  so  that  I  have  five 
two  acre  lots  for  general  purposes  ;  from  two  and  a  half  to 
three  acres  in  wood,  two  acres  in  orchards,  and  one  acre  in  small 


714  MEDINA  COUNTY,  OHIO. 

fruits,  raspberries,  strawberries,  and  blackberries.     The  bal- 
ance is  taken  up  with  buildings,  yard,  garden,  and  highway. 

ROTATION. 

With  the  five  two  acre  lots  first  mentioned,  I  practice  the 
following  rotation :  The  first  year  I  plow  under  a  clover  sod, 
generally  without  manure,  except  on  some  poor  spots.  I  then 
plant  to  corn,  using  a  planter,  and  planting  three  and  a  half 
feet  apart  each  way.  Last  year  I  used  a  horse  planter  only, 
rowing  the  corn  one  way ;  but  I  don't  like  that  method  as 
well,  as  it  is  much  more  work  to  tend  it,  and  I  don't  think  the 
yield  was  any  better.  As  soon  as  the  corn  is  large  enough  to 
see  the  rows  plainly,  I  start  the  cultivator,  and  unless  the 
weather  is  very  wet,  seldom  have  to  use  the  hoe.  I  generally 
get  from  eighty  to  one  hundred  bushels  of  ears  to  the  acre  of 
the  yellow  corn,  a  rather  large  variety,  which  I  have  greatly 
improved  by  careful  selection  of  seed. 

The  second  year  I  plant  one-half  the  same  piece  to  pota- 
toes, mostly  of  the  early  and  late  Rose  varieties,  although  next 
year  I  shall  plant  the  Beauty  of  Hebron  in  place  of  the 
Early  Rose.  I  plant  them  in  drills  three  feet  apart,  marking 
out  furrows  with  a  small  plow,  dropping  the  seed,  which  has 
been  previously  cut,  and  covering  it  with  the  cultivator  with 
the  teeth  reversed.  When  the  potatoes  begin  to  peep  through 
the  ground,  I  put  on  the  harrow  and  give  them  a  thorough 
harrowing.  Then  after  a  few  days  I  cultivate  them.  I  keep 
them  cultivated  until  they  are  in  blossom,  and  then  lay  them  by. 
The  usual  yield  is  from  ninety  to  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
bushels.  The  balance  of  my  lot  I  sow  to  oats,  and  they  yield 
from  forty  to  fifty  bushels.  As  soon  as  the  oats  are  off  the 
ground,  I  plow  for  wheat.  After  plowing,  manure  is  spread 
evenly  over  the  surface  and  harrowed  in.  The  eavty  potatoes 
are  also  dug,  and  the  ground  fitted  in  the  same  manner.  The 
ground  I  stir  frequently  until  about  the  tenth  of  September, 
when  the  wheat  is  sown  with  a  drill,  also  putting  on  one  hun 
dred  pounds  of  superphosphate  to  the  acre,  to  start  the  wheat  in 
the  Fall.  Where  the  late  potatoes  were,  I  sow  to  oats  in  the 


FRUITS  —  RASPBERRIES.  715 

Spring,  and  seed  the  whole  to  clover.  The  clover  I  mow  for 
two  years,  and  then  turn  under  for  corn  again.  The  first  crop 
is  mown  for  hay,  and  the  second  either  pastured  or  mown  for 
seed.  Thus  I  have  a  five  years'  rotation,  one  year  corn,  sec- 
ond potatoes  and  oats,  third  wheat,  fourth  and  fifth  clover, 
manuring  once  only  in  the  five  years ;  yet  the  land  is  constantly 
improving  in  fertility. 

FRUITS. 

I  have  about  two  acres  in  orchard,  of  mixed  varieties,  but 
don't  think  it  very  profitable  here.  I  have  also  about  a  quar- 
ter of  an  acre  in  strawberries,  mostly  of  the  Wilson  variety, 
with  some  Jucunda,  Col.  Cheney,  Sterling,  and  Capt.  Jack. 
They  are  set  in  rows  about  three  feet  apart,  and  in  the  rows 
are  allowed  to  run  together.  In  the  Fall  I  cover  with  straw  to 
protect  them  from  heaving,  and  do  not  touch  them  in  the 
Spring  until  after  fruiting.  They  will  yield  from  forty  to  sixty 
bushels,  and  are  worth  about  one  dollar  and  a  half  per  bushel 
here,  or  one  dollar  and  seventy-five  cents  to  two  dollars  in 
Akron. 

RASPBERRIES. 

I  have  also  three-quarters  of  an  acre  of  raspberries,  mostly 
Doolittle's  and  Black  Caps,  which  seem  to  do  the  best.  I 
have  tried  the  Mammoth  Cluster,  but  they  do  not  endure  as 
long  as  the  Doolittles.  They  are  set  in  rows  six  feet  apart,  and 
three  feet  in  the  row.  The  new  canes  are  pinched  back  when 
they  are  two  feet  high,  to  make  the  bushes  more  stocky.  They 
will  yield  from  forty  to  fifty  bushels,  and  bring  in  Akron  two 
dollars  per  bushel.  I  don't  think  that  there  is  much  profit  in 
raspberries  at  that  price,  and  at  our  distance  from  market. 
Lawton  blackberries  pay  very  well,  when  they  don't  Winter 
kill,  which  is  about  every  other  year.  They  will  bear  with 
but  very  little  cultivation, 

GARDEN. 

As  to  the  garden,  I  generally  sow  onions  enough  to  pro- 
duce thirty  to  sixty  bushels.  For  them  I  plow  the  ground  in 
the  Fall,  and  manure  with  well  rotted  manure ;  and  in  the 


716  MEDINA  COUNTY,  OHIO. 

Spring  I  harrow  the  ground  well,  then  rake  off  by  hand  and 
sow  the  seed  with  a  drill,  keep  them  clean,  and  about  the  first 
of  August  drill  turnip  seed  between  the  rows,  which  gives  two 
crops  from  the  same  ground.  I  also  raise  some  cabbage,  celery, 
Russian  turnips,  beans,  peas,  etc.,  enough  for  my  own  use  and 

some  to  spare. 

STOCK. 

For  stock  I  keep  two  good  grade  Short-Horn  cows.  I  cal- 
culate to  raise  one  calf  each  year,  and  to  turn  one  cow  off, 
either  for  a  milker  or  for  beef,  annually.  I  find  it  as  profitable 
to  milk  in  the  Winter  as  in  the  Summer,  as  I  keep  my  cows  up 
any  way  until  after  haying,  cutting  clover  for  them  when  it  is 
large  enough,  and  buying  some  old  straw  stack  for  bedding, 
thus  making  a  large  quantity  of  manure. 

SHEEP. 

I  also  keep  from  five  to  ten  sheep,  to  keep  down  the  briars 
in  my  wood  lot.  The  sheep  I  change  quite  often,  buying  a 
few  culls  from  large  flocks,  and  putting  them  by  themselves. 
They  soon  improve  so  as  to  bring  a  good  price. 

HOGS. 

I  also  keep  quite  a  number  of  hogs.  Generally  have  one 
or  two  sows,  and  raise  pigs  to  sell  whenever  I  get  a  chance. 
From  the  time  they  are  four  weeks  until  they  are  six  months 
old,  I  find  they  pay  well.  I  buy  from  one  to  two  tons  of  shorts 
in  the  course  of  the  year  to  feed  to  the  cows  and  pigs.  I  keep 
one  good  horse,  and  sometimes  for  a  short  time  two,  and  by 
watching  things  closely  and  working  hard,  I  manage  to  do  well 
on  a  small  farm. 


MAKING  MAPLE  SUGAR  717 

N.  TALCOTT, 

JEFFEBSON,   ASHTABULA    COUNTY. 

Stock  —  Making  Sugar  —  Buildings  —  Results. 

STOCK  FABM. 

My  farm  contains  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres,  forty  of 
which  are  timber — beech,  maple  and  white  wood.  I  have  a 
nice  white  maple,  or  hard  maple,  sugar  orchard  of  about  four 
hundred  trees.  I  now  use  three  hundred  of  them  every  season 
for  this  purpose.  I  make  the  purest  sweet  ever  known  to 
man.  My  mode  of  conducting  this  business  is  very  simple, 
cheap  and  economical.  I  do  no  work  for  the  fun  of  it  alone, 
but  aim  in  all  things  to  do  it  well ;  and  the  higher  culture  I 
give  to  all  my  farm  operations,  the  better  my  returns. 

My  timber  land  and  all  my  farm  is  in  three  gentle  rolling 
ridges.  I  have  no  waste  land  or  need  of  underdrains.  The 
woods  are  as  nice  every  Spring  to  make  sugar  in  as  it  is  pos- 
sible to  have  clay  soil. 

MAKING   MAPLE    SUGAR. 

I  use  heavy  tin  buckets,  flaring  a  little.  They  hold  eleven 
quarts  each,  and  have  a  hole  near  the  top  of  each  to  hang  them 
on  the  sap  spout.  The  spouts  are  made  of  tin.  I  have  tin 
covers  for  all  my  buckets  that  go  over  the  spout  and  bucket, 
so  that  no  impurities  can  ever  get  to  my  sap.  It  is  then  kept 
gathered  up  close,  and  never  allowed  to  sour  in  the  buckets. 
I  store  it  in  a  galvanized  iron  cistern  that  holds  twenty  barrels. 
I  draw  from  this  by  a  faucet  a  steady  stream  of  sap  into  a 
galvanized  iron  pan  heater,  placed  on  a  brick  arch.  My  hot 
sap  from  this  heater  flows  continually  into  another  larger  pan, 
thirty-two  by  eighty-two  inches,  six  inches  deep,  set  a  little 
lower  on  the  arch.  I  sirup  off  a  batch  every  three  hours,  be- 
cause sap  needs  to  be  converted  into  molasses  as  rapidly  as 


718  ASHTABULA  COUNTY,  OHIO. 

possible,  and  made  fresh,  as  the  flavor  is  spoiled  if  it  gets  the 
least  bit  sour,  or  is  boiled  too  much.  The  utensils  should  all 
be  made  of  tin  and  galvarized  iron  or  copper,  and  be  kept  clean 
and  pure  all  the  time.  My  sap  bush  has  never  returned  me 
less  than  one  hundred  dollars  per  year  yet.  I  generally  receive 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  for  choice  maple  sirup, 
sold  at  from  one  dollar  to  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  per 
gallon.  It  requires  two  hands  to  work  the  bush,  and  they 
average  twenty  days'  work  each,  also  a  team.  The  wood  I  use 
is  always  waste  wood,  prepared  the  Summer  before,  and  hauled 
up  to  my  sugar  house,  which  is  sixteen  by  twenty-four  feet, 
containing  all  the  fixtures  necessary  to  do  this  work,  night  or 
day,  with  comfort  and  ease.  My  building  and  entire  outfit 
only  cost  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  and  will  last 
twenty  j-ears  or  more.  My  work  in  expense  never  amounts 
to  more  than  fifty  dollars,  and  is  done  at  a  time  of  the  year 
when  nothing  else  but  chores  can  possibly  be  done  to  good 
advantage.  I  always  keep  for  table  use,  from  twenty  to  thirty 
gallons  of  sirup,  besides  about  two  hundred  pounds  of  sugar, 
and  I  sell  from  one  to  two  hundred  dollars  worth  of  sirup.  I 
made  over  two  hundred  gallons  last  year  from  three  hundred 
trees. 

CATTLE. 

My  main  branch  of  farming  is  breeding  Short-Horn  Dur- 
hams.  I  commenced  this  business  nine  years  ago,  with  three 
cows  and  heifers,  and  have  sold  the  male  increase  and  a  few  of 
the  females,  always  about  as  soon  as  weaned.  I  have  received 
thus  far,  over  fourteen  hundred  dollars.  Previous  to  this  I 
was  engaged  for  many  years  in  fine  wool  sheep  husbandry,  and 
from  that  went  into  dairy  farming,  but  I  have  gradually  worked 
out  of  that  the  last  four  years,  and  am  now  in  the  stock  busi- 
ness exclusively. 

My  former  business  was  always  very  successful,  for  the 
amount  invested,  always  paying  me  full  ten  per.  cent,  per 
annum,  for  about  ten  thousand  dollars  invested  in  a  farm  and 
fixtures.  It  has  been  as  high  as  fifteen  per  cent,  net  some  years. 


CATTLE  YARD  — SHEEP  BARN.  719 

STOCK  BARN. 

My  main  stock  barn  is  forty  feet  wide,  fifty  feet  long,  and 
runs  east  and  west.  It  is  a  good,  high,  two  story  barn.  My 
stable  floors  are  very  heavy,  as  my  cows  weigh  from  sixteen 
to  eighteen  hundred  pounds  each.  I  use  stanchions,  and  have 
twelve  on  each  side,  giving  ample  room  for  these  large  animals. 
My  barn  is  boarded  up  and  down,  with  bats  over  the  joints, 
planed,  and  painted  with  yellow  ochre,  and  made  warm  and 
comfortable. 

CATTLE  YAED. 

I  have  a  two  acre  barn  yard,  with  a  fresh  spring  in  it  a  few 
rods  north  of  the  barn,  and  on  pleasant  days  I  let  the  cattle 
run  here  and  to  the  spring  for  water.  But  nearly  all  the  time 
they  are  kept  in  a  yard  south  of  the  main  barn,  entirely  en- 
closed with  shed  and  other  barns,  to  prevent  the  cold  wind 
beating  upon  them  from  any  direction.  In  the  center  of  this 
yard  I  have  a  large  straw  stack,  to  keep  the  cattle  busy,  and  it 
affords  them  a  chance  to  rub  and  lick  themselves.  They 
gather  round  this,  and  also  eat  a  little  of  it  each  day.  They 
scatter  considerably  more,  and  make  lots  of  manure  in  the  yard. 
This  yard  is  fifty  by  sixty  feet,  and  is  amply  large  to  herd 
twenty  cows  and  save  all  the  manure. 

SHEEP  BARN. 

I  have  a  little  sheep  barn  that  forms  a  part  of  one  side  of 
the  yard.  It  is  sixteen  by  thirty-six  feet.  My  horse  barn  is 
on  the  other  side,  and  is  eighteen  by  thirty-two  feet,  with  ten 
feet  shed  roof.  The  roofs  all  run  outside,  so  no  water  is  allowed 
to  run  from  the  eaves  on  barns  or  sheds  into  the  yard,  as  I 
have  eave  spouts  on  the  barns  to  prevent  this.  I  have  a  well 
near  the  end  of  the  main  barn,  and  if  it  is  very  stormy  weather, 
I  can  pump  water,  letting  it  run  into  a  tin  trough  through  the 
barn.  The  cattle  can  drink  without  moving  from  the  stable 
stall.  There  is  another  water  trough  in  the  yard,  for  the  same 
purpose.  I  have  the  cattle  cleaned  off  once  a  day,  with  a 
cattle  card,  and  feed  them  hay,  steamed,  or  corn  fodder,  all 
they  will  eat  up  clean.  Then  I  give  them  a  two-quart  measure 


720  ASHTABULA  COUNTY,  OHIO. 

full  of  corn  and  oats  ground  in  equal  parts,  twice  a  day.  I  never 
have  a  sick  animal  or  a  poor  one,  and  always  sell  before  any 
trouble  comes  upon  me  in  consequence  of  old  age  of  my  animals. 

GOOD  STOCK. 

My  stock  are  always  nice.  I  get  the  red  ribbons  at  our 
fairs,  and  others  call  me  lucky,  but  there  is  no  such  thing  as 
luck.  Do  your  work  well,  use  good  judgment  in  breeding, 
aim  to  get  good  stock  to  begin  with,  and  make  each  new  crop 
better,  if  possible. 

My  other  farm  stock  are  a  few  herd  of  sheep,  horses,  and 
colts,  and  poultry,  in  about  the  usual  quantity  which  farmers 
generally  keep. 

cows. 

I  have  four  good  grade  cows  for  milk  and  butter.  Any  of 
them  will  give  over  forty  pounds  of  milk  per  day  on  an  aver- 
age, and  of  good  quality  in  June,  and  make  full  two  hundred 
pounds  of  butter  per  head  each  season.  I  have  made  my  whole 
dairy  average  over  five  thousand  pounds  of  milk  per  cow, 
when  sending  to  our  cheese  factories;  but  it  requires  good 
cows,  good  pastures,  and  extra  feed  in  all  months  but  part  of 
May,  June,  and  part  of  July. 

FEEDING  MILCH    COWS. 

I  change  the  feed  for  milch  cows,  from  chop  feed,  as  before 
stated,  to  bran ;  as  cold  weather  comes  on  I  commence  with 
the  ground  corn  and  oats  again.  I  can  not  raise  crops  on  my 
old  clay  farm,  which  has  been  in  use  constantly  for  seventy 
years,  unless  I  give  it  high  cultivation  and  plenty  of  fertilizers. 

GRAIN. 

I  make  no  specialty  of  any  other  kind  of  farming.  I  keep 
about  six  acres  each  of  corn,  oats,  arid  wheat  each  year,  using 
this  rotation,  manuring  corn  in  hill  or  with  phosphates,  one 
barrel  to  the  acre.  Also  on  my  oats  I  use  one  barrel  of  phos- 
phate to  the  acre,  and  drill  them  in  with  phosphate  drill. 

I  always  stock  my  land  with  the  wheat  crop,  and  use  all 
the  manure  I  can  make  on  the  farm  each  year  with  this  crop, 


IMPLEMENTS— KEEPING  ACCOUNTS.  721 

and  usually  plow  it  under.     I  seed  with  ten  quarts  timothy 
and  four  of  clover  per  acre,  generally  in  March. 

IMPLEMENTS. 

I  have  a  Buckeye  Mower,  and  the  latest  style  side  delivery 
reaper.  I  can  use  cast  iron  plows  in  my  soil  as  well  as  steel.  I 
keep  my  farm  tools  always  under  shelter  in  the  barns  or  sheds, 
and  never  allow  any  thing  to  go  to  waste  through  neglect. 

KEEPING  ACCOUNTS. 

I  keep  one  good  hired  man  the  year  around,  at  fifteen  dol- 
lars per  month,  and  hire  an  extra  hand  in  harvest,  and  a  little  in 
planting.  If  my  own  boys  are  busy  in  school,  I  have  to  get  some 
one  to  help  in  the  sugar  season ;  but  this  extra  work  rarely 
ever  reaches  the  sum  of  fifty  dollars  per  year.  This  money 
paid  for  work,  my  taxes  and  repairs,  and  loss  by  wear  on  farm 
implements,  constitute  my  expense  account.  I  pay  nothing  out 
for  stock.  I  give  the  farm  credit  for  my  butter,  milk,  vegeta- 
bles, meat,  poultry,  eggs,  firewood,  proceeds  of  the  sale  of 
cattle,  horses,  sheep,  milk,  butter,  wood,  timber,  stone,  maple 
sugar,  grain,  and  every  thing  else  the  farm  turns  off,  after 
deducting  all  expenses.  I  know  just  what  it  earns  each  year. 
I  do  no  work  on  the  farm  myself,  save  the  chores  night  and 
morning,  but  plan  it  all  and  set  my  men  to  work  before  break- 
fast. I  reside  on  my  farm,  but  have  a  hardware  store,  banking 
house,  and  flouring  mill  near  at  hand,  which  occupy  all  my 
time  during  business  hours,  and  have  done  so  for  twenty  years. 
But  for  fifteen  years  the  farm  has  paid  the  best  per  cent,  on  the 
investment  of  any  of  my  enterprises. 

I  have  never  yet  found  a  farmer  who  would  correctly  rep- 
resent the  true  earnings  of  a  farm.  They  eat  up  half  or 
more  they  raise,  and  give  no  credit  for  it,  and  then,  after  this 
is  wrongfully  deducted  out  of  it,  report  the  per  cent,  the  farm 
earns.  A  merchant,  mechanic,  or  laboring  man,  has  to  pay 
for  every  such  thing  out  of  his  earnings,  and  it  then  figures 
against  him  ;  and  there  is  no  good  reason  why  the  same  rule  is 
not  good  on  the  farm. 

Our  farm  lands  in  Ashtabula  county,  Ohio,  bordering  the 
46 


722  FULTON  COUNTY,  OHIO. 

lake  for  three  or  four  miles  wide,  are  sandy,  and  well  adapted 
to  fruit  and  small  garden  culture.  On  these  sand  ridges  the 
land  is  valuable,  averaging  from  seventy-five  to  one  hundred 
dollars  per  acre.  Back  of  this  for  twenty  miles  it  is  mostly 
clay  or  gravelly  soil,  stony  land,  susceptible  of  high  culture, 
and  good  grass  land.  It  was  originally  heavily  timbered  with 
beech,  maple,  ash,  white  wood,  and  a  little  oak  and  hemlock  in 
some  places.  The  main  business  of  this  county  for  years  has 
been  butter  and  cheese,  and  stock  raising.  These  improved 
farms  range  in  price  from  twenty  to  fifty  dollars  per  acre,  and 
pay  good  returns  if  properly  managed. 


D.  W.  H.  HOWARD, 

WASEON,     PULTON     COUNTY. 

Profit  of  Sheep  —  Under  Drainage. 

SITUATION  OF  FARM. 

My  farm  has  four  hundred  acres,  which  are  mostly  black 
land,  with  clay  subsoil.  A  ridge  of  high  land  runs  through  it, 
furnishing  springs  (or  what  answers  for  them)  in  abundance.  I 
have  excavated  several  pools  of  one-half  to  three-quarter 
acres  extent  in  each,  at  a  depth  of  five  to  six  feet,  which  fur- 
nish pure,  cool  water  for  stock.  As  they  are  shaded  with 
maple  trees,  which  I  planted  on  their  borders,  stock  have  cool 
places  for  standing  when  the  weather  is  hot.  They  often 
stand  up  to  the  belly  in  water. 

STOCK. 

I  have  kept  forty  head  of  cattle  and  horses,  and  one  thou- 
sand sheep  on  my  place  for  many  years.  I  do  not  house  my 
animals  in  Winter,  but  have  plenty  of  open  sheds  in  conven- 
ient places  (usually  in  the  edge  of  the  timber),  where  they 
can  go  in  and  out  at  pleasure,  feeding  hay  and  corn  fodder  on 
dry  ground.  My  sheep  are  fed  in  wet  weather  in  open  box 


SHEEP  PROFITABLE  — UNDERDRAINING.  723 

racks,  having  the  same  liberty  of  the  sheds  as  do  the  cattle ; 
but  they  do  not  run  with  them. 

SHEEP    PKOFITABLE. 

From  1850  to  1865  I  kept  horned  cattle  alone,  and  found 
them  very  profitable  ;  but  in  1865  I  changed  to  the  Merino 
sheep,  and  have  continued  in  the  business  ever  since.  I  find 
no  branch  of  agriculture  in  this  part  of  our  country  so  profita- 
ble as  the  growing  of  fine  wool. 

My  wethers  shear  five  to  nine  pounds,  and  my  ewes  three 
to  five  pounds  of  clean  washed  wool.  The  price  ranges  from 
thirty-five  to  forty  cents  per  pound. 

FINE  WOOL. 

In  the  Fall  of  1863,  I  let  to  a  neighbor  six  fine  wool  ewes 
for  a  term  of  four  years,  I  to  receive  annually  half  the  wool 
shorn,  and  at  the  expiration  of  the  term  I  was  to  have  half  the 
increase.  Having  a  curiosity  to  know  how  the  venture  would 
"  pan  out,"  I  kept  a  strict  account  of  sales  of  wool,  both  of  the 
lease  and  my  own,  and  of  what  mutton  was  sold.  At  the  end 
of  four  years  we  sold  the  entire  flock,  which,  with  the 
amount  of  previous  sales  of  wool,  etc.,  produced  the  aggregate 
sum  of  three  hundred  and  sixty-six  dollars  and  sixty  cents. 
This  result  seems  large,  but  it  is  nevertheless  true. 

Of  course,  unusual  care  and  good  luck  were  given  to  the 
flock,  or  such  results  could  not  have  been  obtained.  Wool 
and  sheep  were  high,  the  wool  bringing  from  sixty  cents  to  one 
dollar  per  pound,  and  the  sheep  three  dollars  to  five  dollars  per 
head. 

UNDERDRAINING. 

I  am  now  underdraining  my  land,  and  find  a  great  improve- 
ment in  the  amount  of  products.  I  use  for  all  small  and  lat- 
eral, two  and  a  half  to  three  inch  tile,  and  mains  four  to  eight 
inch  tile.  The  cost  of  these  tile  (at  the  kilns)  is  eight,  ten, 
fifteen,  and  forty  dollars  per  thousand,  and  for  laying,  sixteen 
to  twenty  cents  per  rod,  including  the  digging,  laying  tile,  and 
filling  ditch. 


724  STARK  COUNTY,  OHIO. 

JAMES  MCDOWELL, 

CANTON,  STARK  COUNTY. 

Pasture  —  Rotation  —  Short-Horns  —  Sheep  —  Barn  and  Racks. 

LOCUST  GROVE  FARM. 

My  farm  proper  contains  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres, 
divided  as  follows  :  One  hundred  and  twenty  acres  are  cleared 
land,  and  forty  acres  are  timber,  consisting  principally  of  white 
oak,  chestnut,  hickory,  maple,  and  locust. 

PASTURAGE. 

In  one-half  of  my  timber  the  small  underbrush,  such  as 
dogwood,  ironwood,  etc.,  is  all  trimmed  out,  the  result  of  which 
is  that  a  fine  natural  growth  of  blue  and  spear  grass  covers  my 
ground,  furnishing  the  best  pasturage  for  sheep,  while  it  seems 
to  be  no  detriment  to  the  larger  growth  of  timber,  but  leaves 
it  to  the  farm,  with  all  the  advantages  of  protection  and 
beauty. 

The  remainder  of  the  timber  is  left  as  Nature  cares  for  it, 
and  stock  are  not  allowed  to  run  through  it.  As  it  is  cut  down 
or  dies  out,  a  younger  growth  fills  its  place. 

ROTATION   OF    CROPS. 

My  land  which  is  cleared  I  have  divided  into  ten  acre 
fields,  for  convenience  in  pasturing  and  rotation  of  crops,  about 
as  follows :  I  sow  wheat,  corn,  oats  or  barley ;  wheat  with 
clover  and  timothy  seed,  to  cut  for  hay  the  following  one  or 
two  years,  rotating  in  the  order  named,  then  pasturing  from 
three  to  five  years.  My  practice  has  been  to  fallow  stiff  sod 
in  July  or  August,  and  after  stirring  it  well,  seed  in  wheat 
from  the  twelfth  to  the  twentieth  of  September.  During  the 
Fall  and  Winter  months  following  after  I  harvest  the  wheat,  I 
haul  the  barnyard  manure,  and  spread  it  as  hauled  evenly  over 


SHORT.  HORNS  — SHEEP.  725 

the  field.  The  following  Spring  the  field  is  plowed,  put  in 
good  condition,  and  planted  in  corn  in  hills  three  and  a  half 
feet  apart  each  way,  and  three  grains  in  a  hill.  By  this  means 
I  have  no  grub  and  cut  worms,  and  a  good  crop  has  always 
been  the  result.  I  plow  up  the  same  field  the  following  Spring, 
and  it  is  in  good  condition  for  oats  or  barley ;  after  harvesting 
the  oats  or  barley,  the  same  field  is  again  turned  over  and 
seeded  with  wheat,  clover,  and  timothy  seed,  and  either  top 
dressed  with  lime  or  manure.  I  prefer  the  lime  generally. 

The  best  time  to  apply  it  is  when  seeding  down  to  grass, 
although  for  hill  fields  that  lie  exposed  to  Winter  winds,  a  top 
dressing  has  proved  very  beneficial,  as  a  protection  to  the 
wheat  plants  during  Winter  and  early  Spring,  and  adds  largely 
to  the  early  start  of  the  young  wheat  plants  where  the  soil  is 
thin  or  light.  I  cultivate  twenty  to  thirty  acres  wheat,  ten  to 
twenty  acres  in  corn,  ten  to  twenty  acres  in  oats  or  barley,  and 
I  cut  thirty  acres  of  grass,  clover,  and  timothy  mixed.  The 
average  yield  of  wheat  is  twenty-five  to  forty-five  bushels  per 
acre ;  of  corn,  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  bushels- 
per  acre  ;  oats,  fifty  to  seventy  bushels  per  acre.  The  number 
of  bushels  of  grain  raised  per  acre  is  gradually  increasing,  after 
forty  odd  years  of  continuous  farming. 

SHOET-HOBNS. 

I  have  thorough-bred  Short-Horns,  as  they  are  the  most 
profitable  with  me,  on  account  of  their  beef  producing  quali- 
ties, as  well  as  their  tendency  to  mature  early  for  beef.  I  find 
that  by  careful  selection  and  proper  breeding,  the  heifers  can 
be  bred  to  produce  fine  milking  qualities,  and  sold  when  fresh 
in  milk  at  three  or  four  years  old,  at  remunerative  rates.  I 
keep  from  twenty  to  thirty  head. 

SHEEP. 

I  have  bred  my  sheep  from  the  W.  R.  Dickison  flock,  pur- 
chased by  him  from  the  Col.  Humphrey's  importation  of  1802, 
of  pure  Spanish  Merinos,  which  have  been  under  my  manage- 
ment since  the  death  of  W.  R.  Dickison,  in  1832.  I  keep  a 


726  STARK  COUNTY,  OHIO. 

flock  averaging  from  four  hundred  to  five  hundred.  The  ewes, 
when  in  good  condition,  weigh  from  eighty  to  one  hundred 
and  twenty  pounds.  I  raise  and  sell  largely  for  stock  breeding 
purposes,  those  weighing  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five  pounds.  The  whole  flock  produces,  on  an  average, 
from  five  to  six  pounds  of  XX  to  XXX  brook  washed  wool,  of 
good  staple,  and  free  from  gum.  As  the  grade  is  noted  for  its 
evenness,  length  and  fineness  of  staple,  as  well  as  quality,  this 
makes  one  of  the  best  flocks  in  the  State,  and  it  is  the  only 
remaining  thorough-bred  flock  of  that  part  of  the  Col.  Hum- 
phrey's importation  of  1802. 

SHEEP   BARN. 

My  plan  for  a  barn  for  sheep  is  as  follows :  I  built  one 
•sixty  by  thirty-two  feet  ground  plan,  for  three  hundred  sheep, 
with  single  racks  on  the  sides,  and  two  rows  of  double  racks, 
so  placed  lengthwise  as  to  divide  the  whole  barn  into  three 
stables  of  equal  size,  and  wide  doors  at  each  end  of  each  stable. 
The  double  racks  are  made  by  using  two-inch  planks,  fourteen 
inches  wide,  twelve  feet  long,  and  I  nail  on  the  sides  a  four 
inch  board,  making  a  trough  two  inches  deep,  as  in  cut  No.  1. 


FIGTJBE  1.—  End  View. 


To  divide  the  trough,  I  take  four-inch  boards  twelve  feet 
long,  and  place  them  in  the  form  of  an  inverted  V,  as  in  figure 
2,  nailing  all  securely  together. 


FIGURE  2.— End  View. 


To  make  the  rack,  I  bore  half-inch  holes,  three  inches 
apart,  along  the  rack,  in  the  boards  making  the  inverted  V.  I 
fill  with  rungs  twelve  inches  long,  and  cap  with  a  board  one 
foot  wide,  with  holes  bored  in  the  lower  edge  to  fit  the  rungs, 
as  in  figure  3.  I  cap  the  ends  well  by  nailing  a  plank  on  each 


PLAN  OF  HOG  HOUSE. 


727 


end  from  the  top  to  the  bottom  plank,  and  it  makes  an  excel- 
lent sheep  rack. 


FIGUEE  3.— End  View. 


This  size  of  barn  should  have  twenty  foot  corner  posts,  and 
by  having  the  center  racks  movable,  and  folding  doors  at  each 
side,  the  mows  can  be  filled  by  driving  through  the  center. 
The  mows  are  thus  large  enough  to  hold  all  the  feed  necessary 
for  three  hundred  sheep  during  the  Winter. 


.   A.  H.  WRENN, 

MOUNT  GILEAD,   MORROW  COUNTY. 

Plan  for    a    Hog    House,  Hen  House  and  Barn  —  Results  of 
Experiments  —  Sheep  —  Hogs. 


1  —  1 
A 

1 

< 

B 

J 

J 

B 

I 

C 

I 

< 

C 

G 

H 

G 

D 

1 

4  ft. 

10  ft. 

4ft. 

J                          Hall  for  Feed  Barrels.                       .* 

In  the  above  plat  is  the  ground  floor  for  a  hog  house  and 
corn  crib  attached,  which  can  be  raised  to  any  desired  hight. 
Corn  and  feed  can  be  stored  in  upper  part  of  hog  house.  If 


728  MORROW  COUNTY,  OHIO. 

raised  as  high  as  corn  crib  and  all  under  one  roof,  the  entire 
length  of  building  for  hog  house  and  corn  crib  will  be  forty  feetr 
and  twenty-two  feet  deep.  The  advantage  of  such  a  con- 
structed hog  house,  is  that  the  sleeping  and  eating  apartments 
are  separate,  each  space  being  large  enough  for  a  sow  with  a 
litter  of  pigs,  or  for  several  other  hogs.  Hogs  of  different  sizes 
can  be  kept  with  convenience,  and  all  fed  from  the  same  feed 
room.  A,  is  a  lane  through  the  farm,  where  the  hogs  can  be  let 
in  through  the  slide  doors.  A  hog  yard,  across  the  lane,  can  be 
attached.  B  B,  are  six  by  ten  sleeping  rooms ;  C  C,  are  six 
by  eight  feeding  rooms  ;  D,  is  trough  opening,  made  in  side  of 
hall  to  get  feed  in ;  E,  troughs ;  F  F,  are  slides,  size  to  suit 
convenience  ;  G  G,  corn  cribs ;  H,  wagon  shed.  The  whole 
can  be  set  on  posts,  to  guard  from  rats,  or  otherwise,  as  desired. 
The  lower  timbers  ought  to  be  six  inches  square ;  corner  posts, 
four  or  five  inches  square  ;  lower  floor,  one  and  one-half  or  two 
inch  plank ;  the  remainder,  one  inch  boards  and  two  by  four 
scantling. 

Much  has  been  said  and  written  relative  to  the  kind  of 
feed,  how  prepared,  where  fed,  etc.  Experience  shows  the 
greatest  waste  is  throwing  whole  corn  in  the  mud  to  swine. 
Nearly  one-fourth  can  be  saved  by  having  a  dry,  warm  place  for 
them  to  eat  and  sleep,  also  nearly  another  fourth  is  saved  by 
feeding  ground  feed,  and  in  addition  hogs  will  be  healthier,  as 
well  as  take  on  fat  faster.  It  is  also  advisable  to  keep  be- 
fore hogs  in  pens,  dry  clay,  charcoal,  and  occasionally  sulphur, 
copperas  and  salt. 


The  above  is  a  form  for  a  poultry  house,  twelve  by  twenty 
feet.  A,  nests  built  two  feet  from  ground,  second  tier  of  nests 
above,  if  wanted;  B,  door  for  entry;  C,  poultry  yard,  to  be 


PLAN  OF  BARN. 


729 


made  as  large  as  required,  lower  story  should  be  six  feet, 
second  story  six  feet,  with  roosting  places.  If  breeds  want  to 
be  kept  separate,  divisions  can  be  made  in  both  stories  to  suit. 
It  is  ascertained  from  experience  that  gravel,  lime,  char- 
coal and  clear  water  are  all  needed  for  the  fowls  to  have  health, 
and  to  be  productive,  and  in  order  for  an  abundance  of  eggs  in 
the  Winter  (which  is  the  great  profit),  they  should  have  a 
change  of  feed,  such  as  corn,  oats,  rye,  screenings,  etc.,  and 
occasionally  ground  feed,  given  warm  ;  to  supply  the  place  of 
worms,  flesh  of  some  sort  should  be  given ;  to  supply  the  place 
of  Summer  herbage,  scraps  of  cabbage,  different  vegetables, 
and  young  growth  of  hay,  cut  and  steamed,  mixed  with  bran 
or  meal. 


LJ 


B 


20x30  ft. 

c 


I  I  I  I  I  I l_ 

E 
Mow  overhead. 

B 


20x30  ft. 


D 


20x30  ft. 

G 


The  above  is  my  plan  of  a  barn,  sixty  by  thirty,  and  sixteen 
feet  posts.  A,  is  barn  yard;  B,  doors;  C  and  G,  stabling, 
which  can  be  made  with  the  mangers  as  desired  ;  D,  threshing 
floor ;  F,  grain  bins ;  E,  mows  over  head. 

If  convenient  for  a  bank  barn,  of  course  the  stabling  can 
be  below  the  above,  and  leave  the  spaces  for  storage,  grain 
bins,  etc.,  etc. 

Space  is  made  for  barn  yards  on  side  and  ends  of  barns. 


730  MORROW  COUNTY,  OHIO. 

"Wells  for   water   are  in   either   yard,  and   a  windmill  pump 

EXPERIMENTS. 

I  tried  what  could  be  done  with  a  town  lot  of  the  fourth 
of  an  acre.  It  being  yellow  clay  and  lying  high,  it  did  not  for 
several  years  pay  to  work  as  it  scarcely  would  raise  white 
beans.  Spring  of  1879,  I  put  on  six  loads  of  stable  manure, 
plowed  under,  and  planted  in  early  potatoes.  The  season  being 
very  dry,  the  manure  did  but  little  good,  if  any.  After  the 
potatoes  were  dug,  the  ground  was  plowed  up  and  made  very 
mellow.  About  the  first  of  September,  sowed  it  to  rye,  and 
put  on  one  hundred  pounds  bone  dust,  with  its  bulk  of  damp 
ashes,  all  harrowed  in  together.  There  were  frequent  showers  of 
rain  during  the  Fall.  In  seven  weeks  from  the  time  of  sowing, 
the  rye  was  sixteen  to  eighteen  inches  in  length,  and  much  of 
it  down.  At  this  writing,  December  22d,  it  is  a  perfect  mat, 
not  an  inch  of  ground  to  be  seen,  and  is  as  green  as  crops  any 
time  in  Spring.  The  calculation  is  to  plow  the  rye  under  in 
Spring,  which  I  think  will  be  a  very  cheap  way  to  get  worn- 
out  land  into  a  good  state  to  raise  any  kind  of  a  crop. 

ANOTHER. 

About  the  first  of  September,  1879,  about  the  sixth  of  an 
acre,  part  of  a  public  square  in  this  place  (Mt.  Gilead,  O.)  was 
being  prepared  to  sow  to  grass.  It  had  been  filled  in  with  yel- 
low clay  from  banks.  My  opinion  was  asked  what  to  do ;  I 
advised  fine  pulverizing,  to  sow  on  a  peck  of  blue  grass  seed, 
fifty  pounds  of  bone  dust,  and  give  a  light  covering  of  barn- 
yard manure.  The  above  was  carried  out  except  as  to  the  manure, 
which  was  too  light ;  the  ground  could  be  seen  too  easily.  The 
result :  At  seven  weeks'  growth  the  grass  was  from  eight  to 
ten  inches  high,  ground  completely  covered,  and  it  is  at  this  time 
very  green  and  in  a  mat.  Have  seen  a  year's  growth  on  a  good 
quality  of  ground  not  as  good  as  the  above. 

I  have  tried  bone  dust  on  wheat,  corn,  meadows,  pas- 
tures, and  different  garden  vegetables,  and  in  every  instance 
consider  the  bone  dust  a  cheaper  and  quicker  fertilizer  at  from 
thirty  to  thirty-five  dollars  per  ton,  than  barn-yard  manure  as  a 


SHEEP  — HOGS.  731 

gift,  if  it  has  to  be  hauled  one  mile ;  and  I  think  it  will  last 
as  long  as  barn-yard  manure.  But  where  the  soil  is  very 
heavy,  coarse  barn-yard  manure  is  an  advantage.  If  the  land 
is  devoid  of  lime,  burnt  lime  will  be  an  advantage.  Where 
bone  dust  or  the  superphosphate  is  put  on  wheat,  meadows,  or 
pastures,  I  think  it  a  good  plan  to  sow  land  plaster  in  the 
Spring.  Amount  of  land  plaster  per  acre,  from  one  hundred 
to  two  hundred  pounds.  Amount  of  bone  dust  per  acre,  from 
two  hundred  to  four  hundred  pounds. 

SHEEP. 

This  is  called  a  good  wool  county.  The  largest  portion  is 
the  Merinos  and  the  grades.  They  have  been  improved  from 
sixty  and  seventy-five  pound  carcasses  to  ninety  and  one  hun- 
dred pounds,  and  from  fleeces  of  from  three  to  four  pounds  to 
five  and  six  pounds  washed  on  the  sheep.  A  few  have  intro- 
duced the  Cotswold  and  Leicesters,  but  only  in  small  flocks. 
Some  are  crossed  with  the  Merinos,  which  improves  the  wool 
and  increases  the  weight  in  mutton,  and  commands  a  higher 
price  per  pound  in  wool  and  mutton  than  the  pure  fine  greasy 
stock.  There  is  also  an  occasional  small  flock  of  South-Downs, 
which  give  satisfaction  to  the  owner,  but  don't  seem  to  come 
into  market  very  fast.  A  few  years  ago  the  foot  rot  and  scab 
was  prevalent ;  stockmen  resorted  to  many  remedies,  but  the 
most  effectual  remedy  was  to  pelt  the  sheep.  Thousands  were 
treated  in  that  way.  It  is  seldom  now  that  we  hear  of  the 
diseases.  It  is  calculated,  take  one  year  with  another,  that 
wool  can  be  produced  for  twenty-five  cents  per  pound. 

HOGS. 

The  old  Wood  breed  is  extinct,  and  where  it  used  to  take 
two  years  to  make  a  two  hundred  pound  hog,  a  three  hundred 
and  four  hundred  pound  hog  can  be  made  in  nine  to  twelve 
months.  The  breeds  are  the  Suffolk,  Chester  Whites,  Magies, 
Berkshire,  etc.  They  all  have  their  admirers.  Many  prefer 
the  last  named,  and  there  are  many  want  none  but  the  two 
first  named  crossed,  one  to  give  bone  and  size,  the  other  to  put 
on  flesh. 


732  FRANKLIN   COUNTY,  OHIO. 

SOLOMON  J.  WOOLEY, 

HILLIARD,      FRANKLIN     COUNTY. 

Tiling — How  to  Make  Drains  —  Depth  —  Laterals —  Velocity 
of  Water  —  Qost  of  Draining  per  Acre  —  Pastures  —  Cattle  — 
Sheep  —  Hogs  —  Horses  —  Rotation  of  Crops  —  Manures. 

APPLEDALE   FARM. 

Twenty-three  years  ago  I  came  to  what  was  then  the 
wettest  and  most  neglected  portion  of  Franklin  county,  and 
purchased  six  hundred  acres  of  heavily  timbered  swamp  land. 
I  deadened  four  hundred  acres  at  once,  and  in  the  course  of 
time  rented  to  all  who  wanted,  from  twenty  to  forty  acres  of 
land  for  the  term  of  five  years,  with  the  understanding  that  at 
the  expiration  of  the  lease  the  land  was  all  to  be  cleared  of 
timber. 

TILING. 

I  at  once  commenced  a  system  of  drainage,  which  I  have 
continued  ever  since,  draining  with  tile  as  I  had  the  money  to 
spare,  always  laying  the  tile  myself,  and  making  sure  that 
every  tile  was  laid  exactly  right. 

Although  there  are  fifteen  miles  of  tile  drains  on  my  farm, 
the  low,  wet  and  swaley  lands  have  been  drained  with  round 
tile  (which  I  consider  the  best),  at  a  depth  of  from  three  to 
six  feet,  and  some  of  the  dry  land  at  a  depth  of  from  three  to 
four  feet,  and  laid  from  six  to  eight  rods  apart.  On  the  black, 
wet,  swaley  land,  it  has  paid  many  fold,  while  on  the  clay 
land,  my  most  sanguine  expectations  have  been  more  than 
realized. 

HOW  TO   MAKE   DRAINS. 

The  distance  between  drains  must  be  determined  by  the 
nature  of  the  soil,  their  depth,  and  the  amount  of  fall.  A 
loose,  porous  soil  will  permit  water  to  reach  the  drains  for  a 
long  distance,  while  a  tough,  compact  clay  is  almost  impervious 


HOW  TO  MAKE  DRAINS.  733 

to  water,  and  requires  them  to  be  made  much  nearer.  In  a 
black,  loose  soil,  drains  at  the  depth,  of  four  feet  are  sufficient 
at  a  distance  of  ten  rods  apart ;  but,  if  the  land  is  a  hard-pan 
or  a  stiff  clay,  to  drain  it  thoroughly  the  distance  apart  should 
be  from  four  to  six  rods. 

But  few  persons  realize  the  great  advantage  that  deep 
drains  have  over  shallow  ones.  In  my  extensive  acquaintance 
among  drainers,  I  know  of  but  few  that  drain  to  a  depth  averag- 
ing over  one  and  a  half  to  three  feet,  whereas  a  depth  of  three 
to  eight  feet  should  always  be  obtained.  An  orchard  or  vine- 
yard, for  example,  should  never  be  drained  less  than  eight  feet 
deep.  The  time  is  probably  no;t  far  distant  when  shallow  drains 
will  be  taken  up  and  put  down  again  at  a  proper  depth.  PeY- 
sons  often  say  that  it  costs  too  much  to  drain  so  deep,  when 
the  fact  is  the  cost  is  less.  For  instance,  it  would  cost  but 
very  little  more  to  dig  two  drains  to  the  depth  of  four  feet  than 
it  would  do  dig  three  to  the  depth  of  two  and  a  half  feet,  and 
the  two  deep  drains  will  drain  fully  as  much  land  as  the  three 
shallow,  and  will  drain  it  much  better  and  save  the  expense  of 
the  third  line  of  tile. 

BUT   THE   DEPTH   OP   DRAINS 

is  not  always  a  matter  of  choice,  as  very  often  the  outlet  is  not 
sufficient,  and  I  have  very  often  noticed  that  persons  are  some- 
times extremely  contrary  about  giving  their  neighbors  above 
them  an  outlet.  In  making  an  improvement  of  this  kind,  that 
is  to  last  for  all  time  to  come,  it  is  much  better  to  secure  a  good 
outlet  in  the  first  place,  if  it  does  cost  something  more,  espe- 
cially if  the  land  is  flat  and  you  have  but  little  fall ;  but  in  all 
cases  it  is  best  to  have  a  good  outlet  so  that  the  water  will  fall 
from  six  to  twelve  inches  when  it  leaves  the  tile.  However,  a 
tile  drain  that  is  properly  made  will  not  fill  up ;  if  the  outlet 
does  fill  up  fifteen  or  twenty  inches  the  water  will  boil  up  like 
a  spring  and  keep  the  tile  washed  out.  If  you  have  a  good  fall, 
say  twelve  inches  to  the  hundred  feet,  a  five-inch  tile  will 
carry  off  as  much  water  as  a  six-inch  will  if  the  fall  is  but  four 
inches  to  the  hundred  feet ;  the  greater  the  fall  the  more  rapidly 


734  FRANKLIN  COUNTY,  OHIO. 

the  water  will  flow,  and  a  smaller-sized  tile  will  answer.  One 
great  consideration  in  draining  land  is  to  get  the  greatest 
amount  of  water  off  in  the  shortest  time  possible,  with  the  least 
expense ;  but  a  great  many  persons  that  I  have  noticed  drain- 
ing do  the  opposite  of  this. 

I  had  an  open  ditch  on  my  farm  which  drained  a  stream 
which  flowed  naturally  in  the  shape  of  an  S  ;  the  ditch  was  cut 
six  feet  wide  and  three  feet  deep.  In  putting  tile  in  this  ditch 
I  commenced  at  the  lower  end  as  deep  as  the  outlet  would 
allow,  which  was  nearly  four  feet.  I  graded  this  ditch  nearly 
on  a  level,  giving  it  just  enough  fall  so  the  water  would  run, 
and  continued  to  give  it  more  fall  as  I  advanced  up  stream,  but 
instead  of  following  the  open  ditch  in  the  shape  of  an  S,  I  cut 
the  S  across,  shortening  the  distance  nearly  one-half,  by  which 
means  I  gave  the  ditch  nearly  twice  the  fall  it  had  in  following 
the  S-shape,  although  I  had  to  cut  through  two  ridges,  one  six 
and  the  other  ten  feet  deep,  but  the  amount  that  was  saved  in  tile 
by  this  cut-off  more  than  twice  paid  for  digging  this  deep  ditch. 
By  the  time  I  had  dug  this  ditch  three-quarters  of  a  mile  it  had 
plenty  of  fall,  and  then  had  a  depth,  at  the  lowest  place,  of 
over  four  feet ;  a  quarter  of  a  mile  further  (being  my  upper 
line),  I  gave  it  a  good  fall,  making  it  at  the  upper  end  two  and 
a  half  feet  deep ;  I  gave  it  this  fall  so  that  the  pressure  of  the 
water  above  would  force  it  rapidly  out  below,  where  the  fall 
was  less.  I  continued  three  six-inch  tile  in  this  ditch  all  the 
way,  branching  the  other  four  off  as  they  were  needed. 

Another  big  open  ditch,  that  I  converted  into  a  tile  drain, 
which  carried  nearly  as  much  water  as  the  first,  I 

DRAINED   IN  A  DIFFERENT   MANNER, 

which  I  like  much  better  than  the  first.  I  commenced  at  the 
lower  end,  at  a  depth  of  four  and  a  half  feet.  This  ditch  was 
so  meandering  that  a  straight  line  would  save  half  the  distance. 
Commencing  with  four  eight-inch  tile,  which  I  laid  side  by  side 
for  a  few  rods,  I  then  branched  them  off  at  a  distance  of  about 
four  rods  apart,  continuing  them  about  this  distance  until  near 
the  upper  end,  when  I  brought  them  nearer  together  to  take 


SIDE  DRAINS.  735 

all  the  water  of  the  swale.  As  I  advanced  up  stream  I  used 
smaller  tile. 

All  four  of  these  drains  cut  across  the  old  open  ditch  and 
its  tributaries  several  times.  My  object  in  making  this  drain 
in  this  way  was  to  drain  a  large  amount  of  land  with  a  few  tile 
and  get  the  water  off  as  quickly  as  possible.  If  I  had  put  all 
these  tile  in  one  drain  they  would  have  carried  only  the  same 
amount  of  water,  and  would  have  drained  only  one-fourth  as 
much  land  as  they  do  now.  In  digging  the  drains  I  had  to  cut 
through  a  few  ridges  six  to  eight  feet  deep,  but  for  all  it  is  the 
cheapest  and  best-drained  land  I  have.  By  tiling  the  open 
ditches  I  not  only  save  thirty  feet  of  the  best  land  on  the  farm, 
but  save  the  cleaning  of  the  ditch  out  every  year,  which,  if 
tramped  with  cattle,  would  cost  nearly  as  much  as  a  new  ditch ; 
besides,  I  get  the  fields  in  good  shape,  and  save  the  lives  of  a 
great  many  sheep,  which  are  lost  every  year  by  the  open 
ditches,  also  the  young  of  other  animals. 

In  draining,  always  remember  that  whenever  you  make  a 
cut-off,  although  it  may  cost  a  little  more  to  dig  the  drain,  you 
not  only  save  the  tile  but  you  get  more  fall,  the  water  off 
quicker,  and  the  land  better  drained  ;  however,  in  some  cases 
the  ridges  are  too  high  to  dig  through,  and  laterals  must  be 
used. 

THE   LATERALS   OR   SIDE   DRAINS, 

as  they  enter  the  main  drain,  should  be  made  to  enter  at  an  acute 
angle,  pointing  down-stream.  Experience  shows  that  if  their 
current  enters  square  across  that  of  the  main  drain,  one  or  the 
other  stream  is  liable  to  be  arrested,  and  sand  or  gravel  de- 
posited, injuring  the  water-course.  The  tile  drain  emptying 
into  the  main  should  have  a  fall  of  at  least  six  inches,  and  the 
more  the  better,  although,  I  do  not  believe  in  having  many 
laterals,  but  the  smaller  the  number  of  outlets  the  better.  In 
draining  six  hundred  acres  of  land  I  have  but  twelve  outlets. 

HOW   TO   LAY   THE   DRAIN. 

Before  I  had  much  experience  in  draining,  I  would  dig  my 
drain  the  whole  length  and  commence  at  the  upper  end  and 


736  FRANKLIN  COUNTY,- OHIO. 

lay  the  tile  down  stream,  but  I  have  learned  from  experience 
that  the  opposite  of  this  is  best.  Always  begin  at  the 
lower  end  and  lay  your  tile  as  the  ditch  is  dug ;  stand  on  the 
tile  in  laying  them,  and  turn  them  until  the  joints  fit,  hitting 
them  after  with  your  boot-heel  so  as  to  keep  them  close  to- 
gether ;  lay  broken  pieces  of  tile  over  the  joints  where  they 
do  not  fit,  and  cover  the  tile  as  you  lay  them  with  a  few  inches 
of  clay  out  of  the  bottom  of  the  ditch,  to  keep  the  loose  soil 
from  washing  in  at  the  joints;  after  which  fill  in  as  much  top 
soil  as  possible  ;  it  will  facilitate  the  descent  of  the  water. 

On  leaving  the  drain  at  any  time,  put  a  board  or  flat  stone 
at  the  upper  end  so  as  to  keep  rubbish  from  washing  in,  and  on 
finishing  the  drain  at  the  upper  end  it  must  be  well  closed.  The 
last  tile  at  the  lower  end  should  be  twice  as  long  as  the  others, 
having  holes  through  the  end,  not  over  an  inch  apart,  with 
wires  so  as  to  keep  all  animals  out  of  the  drain ;  and  there 
should  be  a  stone  wall  built  across  over  the  mouth  of  the 
drain,  laid  "up  with  lime  and  sand,  or  cement,  so  as  to  keep  the 
muskrats  from  digging  holes  up  along  the  tile.  I  have  known 
them  to  dig  holes  on  top  of  the  tile  to  a  distance  of  thirty  feet, 
which  would  form  a  water-course  in  time  of  a  freshet,  and 
wash  the  dirt  from  off  the  tile. 

To  know  the  size  of  the  tile  needed,  learn  all  you  can 
about  drainage,  and  use  your  own  judgment.  One  eight-inch 
tile  will  carry  off  as  much  water  as  an  open  ditch  four  feet 
wide  and  two  feet  deep,  and  is  sufficient  for  an  outlet  for  fifty 
acres.  Never  continue  tile  of  the  same  size  all  the  way. 
Whenever  a  lateral  comes  in,  a  smaller  tile  will  do  from  that 
point  on,  and  so  on.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  tile  is 
taking  water  all  the  time,  at  every  joint.  The  tile  at  the  end 
that  has  holes  in  it  should  be  a  size  larger  than  the  others,  as 
the  wires  will  impede  the  flow  of  the  water  to  some  extent. 

HOW   TO    GRADE   THE   DRAIN. 

This  is  the  most  important  feature  of  drainage,  and  should 
always  be  done  with  water,  as  there  is  no  level  for  this  purpose 
equal  to  water.  I  have  learned  from  experience  that  it  is 


DEPTH   OF  DRAIN.  737 

almost  a  useless  expense  to  get  an  engineer ;  he  can  tell  you 
how  deep  to  cut  through  the  ridge  to  give  the  water  an  outlet 
for  a  certain  depth  above,  but  this  will  not  help  any  about 
grading  the  bottom  of  the  ditch,  and  if  you  get  the  drain 
deeper  above  than  it  is  below,  just  that  much  it  will  fill  up. 
You  must  know  that  a  drain  can  be  very  easily  ruined  by  not 
being  graded  correctly. 

There  can  be  no  question  in  regard  to  the  best  form  of 
tile.  At  first,  the  horseshoe  tile  was  made  semi-circular  in 
shape,  and  without  a  bottom.  Next,  the  sole  tile,  of  the  same 
shape  as  the  horseshoe,  but  having  a  flat  bottom.  Then  the 
pipe  tile,  which  is  circular,  and  has  many  advantages,  among 
them  the  possibility  of  being  laid  true  on  the  bottom,  however 
it  may  be  warped  or  crooked  in  burning.  Horseshoe  tile 
should  never  be  used,  as  they  will  be  filled  with  crawfish  and 
become  useless.  Tile  are  usually  made  twelve  and  a  half 
inches  long,  or  intended  to  be,  but  they  are  seldom  over  twelve 
inches.  I  have  used  a  great  many  of  this  length,  and  found, 
on  taking  them  up,  that  in  several  places  where  a  stone  was 
removed  in  the  bottom  of  the  drain,  that  one  end  of  the  tile 
had  sunken  and  the  other  end  raised  up,  which  would  leave 
quite  an  aperture  for  dirt  to  wash  in.  I  found  a  remedy  for 
this  by  getting  a  longer  cut-off,  and  making  my  tile  fifteen 
inches  long,  which  I  find  are  superior  to  the  short  ones  in  sev- 
eral respects. 

DEPTH   OF   DRAINS. 

I  have  often  been  asked  why  I  drain  so  deep.  I  do  so  to 
get  the  full  benefit  of  my  land.  After  cultivating  wheat  I  dug- 
down  to  the  tile  drain  six  feet  deep  and  found  plenty  of  wheat 
roots  at  that  depth.  Beach  land,  which  is  a  hard  pan  that  the 
roots  of  none  of  our  crops  can  enter,  after  being  drained  and 
frozen,  becomes  loose  and  mellow  to  nearly  the  depth  of  the 
drain,  and  twice  the  amount  of  grain  can  be  raised  on  the 
same  land.  I  found  a  few  swamps  composed  of  vegetable 
mold  that  became  so  light,  loose,  and  chaffy  after  draining  that 
it  would  not  produce,  but  after  plowing  these  swamps  twenty 
47 


738  FRANKLIN  COUNTY,  OHIO. 

inches  deep,  throwing  the  subsoil  to  the  top,  it  became  the  most 
productive  land  that  I  had. 

WHAT   KIND  OF  LAND   NEEDS  DRAINING. 

I  doubt  if  a  piece  of  land  could  be  found  which  would  not 
be  benefited  by  draining,  so  that  we  might  truthfully  say  that 
all  lands  need  it,  the  only  possible  exception  being  those  that 
have  a  gravelly  or  sandy  subsoil. 

On  visiting  a  friend  some  years  since,  I  found  him  drain- 
ing a  wet,  springy  piece  of  land  at  the  foot  of  a  hill.  He  was 
digging  his  drain  about  eighteen  inches  deep  ;  he  said  that  he 
had  read  that  it  was  no  use  to  make  the  drain  deeper  than  the 
veins.  I  tried  to  get  him  to  make  his  drain  four  feet,  as  he 
had  a  good  outlet,  and  finally  he  put  them  in  three  feet ;  and 
on  examining  them  several  years  after,  I  found  that  the  water 
veins  had  sunk  to  the  bottom  of  the  drain,  and  this  piece  of 
wet  and  useless  land  had  become  the  most  valuable  on  his 
farm,  and  at  the  end  of  his  tile  drain  was  a  living  spring  of 
pure  water  that  never  froze  over,  which  was  valuable  for  his ; 
stock. 

The  water  from  tile  drains  is  the  purest  that  we  have,  and 
is  the  best  for  culinary  purposes,  and  where  the  land  lies  in 
such  a  shape  that  it  can  be  used  for  stock,  it  is  the  best  water 
that  we  have  for  that  purpose. 

DRAINAGE   FOR    HEALTH  ABOUT   A   HOME. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  the  well  is  the  outlet  for  at 
least  ten  rods  in  all  directions.  I  have  known  whole  families 
to  die,  and  it  was  said  to  be  the  mysterious  providence  of  God, 
when  it  was  nothing  but  the  cesspools,  barn-yards,  cow-stables, 
pig-pens,  and  slops  of  the  house,  all  emptying  their  foulness 
into  the  well. 

The  soil  lying  between  the  source  of  impurity  and  the 
well  has  a  certain  amount  of  cleansing  power,  and  while  effec 
tive  withhold  the  impurity,  but  by  degrees  it  becomes  fou 
further  and  further  on ;  and  this  insidious  process  of  fouling 
the  semi-porous  earth  with  impurity  inch  by  inch  continue; 
until,  in  time,  it  reaches  the  well,  and  then  every  drop  tha 


SOLID  AND    POROUS  TILE.  739 

flows  through  this  soil  carries  with  it  its  atom  of  filth,  caus- 
ing fevers  and  death.  Therefore,  deep  drains  should  be  made 
between  the  well  and  all  places  of  filth.  As  the  matter  is 
one  of  great  importance,  involving  doctors'  bills,  sickness, 
and  death,  it  should  have  careful  attention. 

ITS   SINGLE  DISADVANTAGE. 

Perhaps  it  is  only  fair  to  mention  one  disadvantage  that 
comes  from  drainage.  If  a  swampy  piece  of  woodland  is  sud- 
denly drained,  most  of  the  old  timber  will  die  ;  the  oaks  and 
hickorys  will  go  first.  The  change  is  first  noticed  in  the  tops 
of  the  trees.  However,  the  young  timber  soon  accommodates 
itself  to  the  change,  and  after  a  time  grows  more  thriftily  than 
ever. 

VELOCITY   OF   WATER   IN   TILE   DRAINS. 

From  the  many  experiments  that  I  have  made  to  ascertain 
as  nearly  as  possible  the  velocity  of  water  in  tile  drains,  I  find 
that  in  a  six-inch  tile,  with  a  fall  of  four  inches  to  the  hundred 
feet,  when  the  tile  was  running  full  of  water,  it  was  eight  rods 
per  minute,  when  running  half-full,  six  rods  per  minute,  and 
the  less  water  there  was  in  the  tile  the  slower  it  would  run. 
The  velocity  of  a  twelve-inch  tile  when  running  full  would  be 
swifter  than  this,  while  in  the  smaller  sizes  it  would  not  be  so 
swift,  and  in  an  open  ditch  of  the  same  fall  the  velocity  is  four 
times  less  than  that  of  a  tile  drain. 

SOLID   AND   POROUS   TILE. 

I  do  not  see  any  advantage  in  using  porous  tile.  Solid  tile 
is  stronger  in  all  respects,  and  will  not  burst  and  crumble  like 
porous  tile  from  wet  and  freezing.  If  porous  tile  is  full  of 
water  and  freezes,  it  is  sure  to  expand  and  break  and  crumble. 
Some  say  that  tile  should  be  porous  so  as  to  let  the  water 
into  the  drain.  If  there  were  no  other  places  for  the  water  to 
enter  the  drain  except  by  the  pores,  the  land  would  be  poorly 
drained.  Now,  for  example,  take  any  sized  tile  you  please, 
having  the  sixteenth  of  an  inch  at  every  joint  (the  space  at  the 
joints  is  really  greater  than  this),  and,  count  it  up  for  thirty 
rods,  you  find  that  the  water  can  get  in  at  the  joints  many  times 


740  FRANKLIN  COUNTY,  OHIO. 

faster  than  it  can  get  out  at  the  outlet ;  and  if  your  drain  is  a 
few  hundred  rods  long,  the  capacity  for  getting  in,  is  over  a 
hundred  times  greater  than  that  for  getting  out. 

THE   STOPPAGE   OF   TILE   DRAINS. 

I  know  of  a  three-inch  tile  drain  that  stopped  running,  and 
on  taking  it  up  there  were  found  over  twenty  muskrats  in  the 
drain ;  they  were  so  swelled  that  no  water  could  pass  them. 
But  roots  are  the  most  troublesome,  sycamore  and  willow  being 
the  most  dangerous,  though  elm,  ash,  alder,  and  some  others  are 
attracted  by  water.  Old  trees  are  not  so  apt  to  injure  drains 
as  young  and  free-growing  trees.  Deep  drains  are  not  only 
the  best,  but  are  nothing  like  so  apt  to  be  closed  by  animals 
and  roots.  Shallow  drains  are  very  often  closed  by  the  roots 
of  grass  and  other  growing  crops.  I  have  never  known  a  drain 
so  deep  that  the  roots  of  growing  crops  could  not  reach  it. 

WHAT  IT  COSTS   PER  ACRE  TO  DRAIN. 

A  field  of  forty  rods  square,  or  ten  acres,  had  four  drains 
put  across  it  from  side  to  side.  In  these  drains  were  laid  four- 
inch  tile  for  the  first  twenty  rods,  costing  thirty-five  cents  per 
rod ;  three-inch  for  the  next  fifteen  rods,  costing  twenty-five 
cents  per  rod ;  and  the  last  five  rods  were  two-inch,  costing 
fifteen  cents  per  rod,  aggregating  a  cost  of  tile  for  one  drain 
of  eleven  dollars  and  fifty  cents ;  digging  the  drain  at  twenty 
cents  per  rod,  eight  dollars  ;  laying  the  tile  and  filling  the  ditch, 
four  cents  per  rod,  one  dollar  and  sixty  cents ;  making  the 
total  cost  for  draining  the  ten  acres,  eighty-four  dollars  and 
forty  cents. 

I  have  never  known  a  man  to  lose  his  farm  by  borrowing 
money  at  ten  per  cent,  to  drain  it,  but  I  know  of  several 
farmers  who  have  lost  their  farms  by  paying  ten  per  cent,  for 
money  to  build  with.  However,  I  would  not  advise  any  one  to 
pay  ten  per  cent,  for  money  to  improve  a  farm  with. 

WATER. 

The  first  thing  to  be  looked  after  is  the  convenience  and 
supply  of  good  water.  I  have  never  seen  a  better  arrangement 


PASTURES.  741 

for  a  water  supply  than  my  own,  on  Appledale  farm.  The 
house  stands  on  an  elevation,  and  the  house  well  supplies  the 
farm.  The  water  is  impregnated  with  black  sulphur  and  iron, 
and  is  very  healthy  for  stock.  I  have  never  had  a  sick  animal 
or  called  a  doctor. 

The  water  is  raised  by  a  windmill,  which  saves  a  hand  and 
nearly  pays  for  itself  every  year.  The  water  is  carried  in  iron 
pipes,  three  hundred  feet,  to  the  west,  and  same  to  the  east 
barn  yard,  also  carried  through  the  milk  house  to  the  hog  lot. 

There  are  no  slops  thrown  out  from  the  kitchen  to  ferment 
in  the  soil  and  create  sickness.  There  are  deep  drains  about 
the  well,  and  the  well  is  cemented  from  the  hard  boulder  clay 
to  the  surface,  so  there  is  no  possibility  of  any  filth  which 
would  breed  disease  getting  into  it. 

PASTURES. 

The  best  pastures  are  those  that  have  never  been  plowed, 
and  blue  grass,  which  is  a  natural  growth  here,  is  the  best  and 
richest  pasture  that  we  have,  and  the  older  the  sod  is,  the  more 
teed  it  seems  to  yield.  I  use  clover  for  hog  pasture. 

A  timothy  meadow,  which  I  raise  only  for  hay,  will  last 
from  eight  to  twelve  years,  at  which  time  the  blue  grass  will 
have  possession.  This  is  but  little  use  for  hay.  In  the  Fall  of 
1879,  my  blue  grass  pasture  was  well  grown,  so  that  I  let  my 
milk  cows  run  on  it  all  Winter,  and  they  have  done  well  with 
but  little  feed.  Cattle  that  are  kept  up  all  Winter  should  not 
have  their  feed  cut  off  at  once  and  turned  to  grass.  I  know 
some  farmers  that  do  this  always,  which  produces  scours  in  their 
cattle,  and  results  invariably  in  a  loss.  I  commence  to  feed 
my  cattle  and  sheep  grain  a  few  weeks  before  they  are  turned 
on  grass,  and  continue  the  grain  several  weeks  afterwards. 

It  is  well  for  farmers  to  be  posted  on  the  different  breeds 
of  cattle.  The  Short-Horns  of  recent  origin  hold  a  high  place 
in  the  esteem  of  many  breeders,  having  been  produced  by  care- 
ful selection  and  high  feeding  and  care.  I  have  allowed  these 
fine  large  breeds  to  run  for  several  years  with  the  common 
natives,  receiving  no  more  care,  feed,  or  shelter,  and  in  several 


742  FRANKLIN   COUNTY,  OHIO. 

years  no  one  could  tell  the  difference  between  them  and  the 
best  of  the  natives. 

DEVONS. 

But  not  so  with  the  Devons,  which  are  the  oldest  distinct 
breed  of  cattle  known.  The  Devons  will  not  run  out  by  neg- 
lect or  exposure,  but  under  all  circumstances  and  in  all  cli- 
mates, maintain  their  beautiful  form  and  red  color,  and  uni- 
formity of  appearance  in  every  feature,  shape  of  horns,  tail, 
etc.  Their  flesh  is  finely  interspersed  with  alternate  fat  and 
lean,  and  of  superior  flavor.  The  cows  yield  richer  milk,  and 
if  properly  fed  will  produce  more  butter  and  cheese  for  the 
feed  consumed.  Although  they  are  not  a  large  breed,  they  will 
produce  more  pounds  of  beef  for  the  feed  consumed  than  other 
animals.  Steers,  when  properly  cared  for,  will  weigh  from  two 
to  three  thousand  pounds.  They  make  the  best  work  oxen  we 
have,  being  fast  walkers,  docile,  and  inoffensive,  and  not 
inclined  to  be  breechy. 

SHEEP. 

The  most  profitable  breed  of  sheep  depends  on  the  loca- 
tion. If  near  a  large  city,  the  South-Downs  are  decidedly  the 
best.  They  hold  the  same  relation  to  the  sheep  family  that  the 
Devons  do  to  cattle.  They  will  do  well  on  short  pasture,  attain 
early  maturity,  and  are  hardy  and  prolific  ;  they  are  not  long- 
lived  sheep,  like  the  Merinos,  but  are  in  their  prime  at  three  ;  for 
mutton  they  are  superior  to  all  other  sheep.  I  sold  my  lambs 
last  July  and  August,  weighing  from  forty  to  seventy-five 
pounds,  at  two  dollars  and  a  half  per  head.  When  well  kept 
and  cared  for,  they  will  average  five  pounds  of  combing  wool, 
bringing  the  highest  price.  They,  like  the  Devon  cattle,  tran- 
smit their  blood  in  the  strongest  degree.  Wethers,  at  three 
years,  will  weigh  two  hundred  to  three  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds,  and  are  more  easily  fattened  than  Merinos.  But  for 
wool,  the  Merinos  are  the  most  profitable,  as  they  will  herd 
better  than  any  other  sheep. 

If  I  raised  but  one  kind  of  stock,  it  would  be  sheep ;  they 


HOGS  — HORSES.  743 

enrich  the  farm  faster  than  other  stock,  dropping  the  manure 
mostly  on  the  highest  places,  where  it  is  needed,  and  return  the 
most  money  for  labor  expended.  Every  farmer  should  keep  a 
few  sheep  anyway,  as  they  are  good  to  kill  weeds  and  briars. 

HOGS. 

Although  hogs  are  the  most  prominent  in  all  the  rich  corn 
growing  regions  of  the  West,  and  will  return  more  mone}r,  they 
require  much  more  labor.  It  is  hard  work  from  beginning  to 
end,  and  is  very  exhaustive  to  the  land.  A  man  that  has  but 
a  small  farm  will  do  better  to  produce  hogs  only.  The  Poland 
China  and  Berkshire  are  the  leading  breeds. 

HORSES. 

A  bank  or  basement  stable  is  not  a  healthy  or  fit  place  to 
keep  horses.  My  stable  is  at  the  south  end  of  the  barn,  with 
half  doors  in  the  south  to  let  the  rays  of  the  sun  in  and  for 
ventilation,  and  to  throw  manure  out.  The  floor  is  two  feet 
above  ground,  and  is  kept  clean,  with  plenty  of  straw  for  bed- 
ding,—  the  manure  pile  being  hauled  away  as  fast  as  made.  I 
never  tie  my  horses  up,  or  imprison  them  in  any  way,  but  turn 
them  all  together,  with  the  stable  door  left  open,  and  give  them 
all  the  liberty  of  the  barn-yard,  straw-stack,  and  water  trough, 
and  they  are  always  peaceable  and  happy,  and  ready  for  their 
feed.  I  feed  my  horses  what  fodder  or  hay  they  will  eat,  twice 
a  day,  with  two  ears  of  corn  twice  a  day,  increasing  the  feed 
as  the  working  season  of  Spring  approaches,  but  never  feed- 
ing over  nine  ears.  Change  their  feed  often  in  hot  weather, 
and  give  them  a  tablespoonful  of  salt,  with  hickory  wood  ashes 
every  other  day  in  the  corner  of  their  trough,  but  never  on 
their  feed.  Never  keep  more  horses  than  you  need.  I  keep 
from  ten  to  fifteen  head,  and  give  them  no  condition  powders, 
or  other  poisonous  drugs,  and  have  never  had  one  of  them 
sick.  A  barn-yard  well,  that  takes  in  all  the  filth  of  the  barn- 
yard, is  a  source  of  disease  among  stock.  I  always  warm  the 
bridle-bits  before  putting  them  in  the  horses'  mouths.  If  you 


744  FRANKLIN  COUNTY,  OHIO. 

think  the  bits  are  not  cold  enough  to  hurt  their  mouths,  touch 
them  to  your  tongue  and  see. 

ROTATION   OF  CHOPS 

is  necessary  on  all  kinds  of  land,  although  I  have  known  thirty 
crops  of  corn  to  be  raised  on  our  rich  lands  in  succession,  the 
last  crop  being  forty  bushels  to  the  acre.  I  never  raise  more 
than  six  crops  of  corn  on  new  land,  however,  and  then  sow  to 
wheat  and  grass.  I  always  sow  a  wheat  crop  after  Hungarian 
grass  or  oats,  but  never  like  to  sow  wheat  on  a  wheat  stubble. 
On  clay  land  sown  to  wheat,  I  seed  clover  and  let  it  remain 
two  years,  then  plow  under  when  in  bloom,  planting  to  corn 
the  next  Spring,  so  that  the  field  will  do  to  seed  to  wheat  in 
the  Fall. 

PLOWING. 

A  man  should  not  plow  simply  to  get  the  best  results  for 
the  present  crop,  but  should  plow  to  have  the  best  crops  in  all 
the  coming  years  ;  and  the  only  way  to  do  this  is  to  plow  deep, 
though  not  all  at  one  time,  but  keep  getting  deeper  every  year. 
The  best  results  are  obtained  in  our  rich  clay  lime  soils,  by  sub- 
soiling  with  a  regular  subsoil  plow,  except  put  a  narrow  mold- 
board  on  that  will  throw  a  part  of  the  subsoil  to  the  surface. 
It  is  best  to  do  this  in  the  Fall.  You  can  not,  however,  plow 
to  much  advantage  unless  the  land  is  underdrained ;  but  if  well 
underdrained,  subsoiling  is  a  great  success. 

PLANTING  AN   ORCHARD. 

Plant  but  few  varieties  of  the  best  apples  suited  to  your 
climate,  and  most  of  them  late  keeping,  firm,  hard,  Winter 
varieties,  such  as  bear  well.  Buy  the  trees  of  the  nearest  nur- 
sery. Rome  Beauty,  Broadwell,  Tallawater,  Liberty,  Seek-no- 
further,  are  good  Winter  apples  ;  Bethlehemite  is  the  best  Fall 
apple,  and  Danvers  Winter  Sweet  is  the  best  Fall  sweet  apple 
the  former  being  the  best  keepers,  but  small  or  medium. 

Prepare  the  land  for  planting  by  subsoiling,  throwing  the 
furrows  out  at  thirty  feet  apart,  and  put  plenty  of  the  top  soil 
for  the  roots  to  feed  on  ;  raise  a  cultivated  crop,  potatoes  the 
best,  until  the  trees  are  grown,  but  always  keep  the  land  level ; 


HOW  TO   SAVE  MANURE.  745 

plow  first  one  way  and  then  the  other.  When  your  trees  are 
large  enough,  sow  to  grass.  Shape  the  top  of  your  trees  while 
young,  and  then  trim  no  more. 

MANURES. 

It  has  been  said  by  many  farmers  that  manure  was  the 
farmer's  capital ;  but  such  is  not  the  case,  at  least  in  the  great 
West.  DRAIN  TILE  is  the  farmer's  capital,  and  as  I  have  very 
fully  given  my  views  and  ideas  upon  the  subject,  I  will  now 
say  a  few  words  upon  manures.  When  I  travel  over  the  fair 
and  beautiful  land  of  Ohio,  and  behold  its  fine  mansions  and 
well  arranged  farms,  I  suppose  that  the  farmers  possess  a  vast 
amount  of  agricultural  knowledge ;  but  on  making  a  close  ob- 
servation of  their  farms,  and  asking  a  thousand  questions  about 
the  high  and  noble  calling  that  they  are  engaged  in,  and  how 
they  manage  things  generally,  I  am  often  surprised  to  find 
that  they  do  not  understand  the  first  principle  of  agriculture, 
which  is  to  keep  the  land  up  to  a  high  state  of  fertility.  I 
have  often  seen  farmers  committing  the  suicidal  act  of  burn- 
ing their  straw  and  raking  up  their  corn-stalks  and  burning 
them.  A  man  who  does  this  is  a  robber  and  a  thief,  who 
takes  from  the  land  its  fertility  without  returning  it.  To  keep 
up  such  a  system  of  farming  as  this  would  certainly  impoverish 
the  coming  generations,  and  destroy  any  country  or  any 
nation. 

HOW   TO   SAVE   AND   MAKE   MANURE. 

The  urine  of  animals  contains  a  very  large  amount  of 
nitrogen,  the  thing  most  needed  for  plant  food,  and  though 
the  richest  and  best  part  of  the  manure  it  goes  to  waste  on 
most  farms.  To  save  this  valuable  manure,  I  have  the  floor 
of  my  cow-stable  tight,  with  a  close  drain  at  the  back  part  of 
it,  and  have  my  straw-stack  near  to  give  the  cattle  plenty 
of  bedding,  which  will  absorb  all  the  urine ;  then  as  fast  as 
the  manure  accumulates,  both  at  the  cow  and  horse  stable,  I 
haul  it  to  the  fields,  and  lay  it  in  piles  until  wanted.  But  the 
most  practical  way  for  the  mass  of  farmers  to  save  the  greater 
part  of  the  urine,  is  to  let  the  stock  run  to  the  straw-stack, 


746  HARDIN  COUNTY,  OHIO 

with  plenty  of  straw  for  them  to  stand  on  while  eating,  and 
lie  on.  In  this  way  a  great  part  of  the  urine  will  be  absorbed 
and  retained  by  the  straw. 

If  the  straw-stack  is  not  all  used  up  by  Spring,  tear  it 
down  and  let  your  cattle  lie  upon  it  at  night  during  the  Sum- 
mer if  possible.  Every  thing  on  the  farm  that  will  make 
manure  should  be  looked  after  for  that  purpose.  Corn  fodder 
should  be  fed  out  in  racks  in  the  barn-yard.  By  this  means  a 
large  amount  of  valuable  manure  is  made,  with  most  of  the 
urine  retained  in  it,  as  the  cattle  will  keep  on  the  stalks  in 
preference  to  going  in  the  mud.  I  gather  all  the  bones  and 
put  them  in  the  bottom  of  the  ash  leachery  ;  they  do  not  injure 
the  lye  for  soap,  but  are  dissolve,  making  rich  fertilizers.  All 
the  wood  ashes  should  be  saved  and  spread  about  the  fruit 
trees,  especially  the  peach.  Unleached  ashes  are  rich  in  potash, 
and  valuable  for  fruit  or  potatoes.  Leached  ashes  contain  a 
large  amount  of  calcium,  and  are  valuable  food  for  crops  of  all 
kinds. 


W.   C.   HAMPTON, 

MOUNT  VICTORY,  HARDIN  COUNTY. 

THE  FARMERS'  WOOD  LOT. 

One  of  the  most  valuable  adjuncts  to  the  farm  is  the 
farmers'  wood  lot,  from  whicli  indispensable  supplies  can  be 
drawn  for  buildings,  fences,  and  the  wood-pile.  In  addition  to 
these  important  uses,  it  makes  a  good  pasture  and  range  for  the 
stock  of  the  farm,  and  becomes  an  ornament  to  the  latter, 
especially  when  groups  of  well-bred  cattle  and  other  stock  are 
reposing  beneath  its  grateful  shade,  protected  from  the  Sum- 
mer's midday  sun,  or  the  chilling  blasts  of  Winter. 

Some  persons  say  that  the  labor  is  too  great  to  grow  one, 
but  my  experience  has  satisfied  me  that  it  is  no  more  trouble 
to  raise  a  crop  of  trees  than  any  other  crop  ;  it  is  only  a  ques- 
tion of  time,  and  it  will  not  be  long  before  it  will  be  con- 


HOW  TO  PLANT  TREES.  747 

sidered  a  paying  investment.  The  failures  in  this  direction  have 
usually  been  caused  by  neglect  after  planting.  If  young  trees 
from  the  forests  or  seed  beds  are  used,  they  should  be  headed 
down  to  within  four  inches  of  the  roots  ;  this  will  cause  a 
healthy  and  vigorous  growth,  and  if  not  done,  the  check  they 
will  receive  in  transplanting  will  retard  their  growth  for  several 
years. 

HOW   TO   PLANT. 

The  best  way  is  to  plant  the  seeds  in  rows,  which  should 
run  north  and  south,  if  practicable  ;  and  some  hoed  crop  should 
be  cultivated  between  the  rows  to  prevent  them  from  being 
choked  out  with  weeds  in  their  early  growth.  If  no  other 
crop  is  between  them,  they  are  liable  to  be  neglected.  But 
when  every  other  row  is  planted  with  corn,  potatoes,  or  beans, 
the  produce  will  more  than  pay  for  the  entire  cultivation,  and 
the  young  trees  will  be  greatly  benefited. 

I  would  recommend  planting  the  first  row  with  large  grow- 
ing and  valuable  timber  trees,  leaving  the  second  row  for  some 
such  crop  as  corn,  potatoes  or  beans.  The  third  row  plant 
with  seeds  of  smaller  growing  or  less  valuable  timber  trees,  to 
be  removed  before  the  others,  and  leave  the  fourth  for  a  crop 
row.  The  fifth  row  plant  as  the  first.  If  the  rows  are  three 
feet  apart,  this  will  place  the  most  valuable  trees  in  rows  fifteen 
feet  from  each  other,  which,  after  the  middle  one  has  been 
removed  and  the  thinning  out  has  been  completed,  will  be 
wide  enough  apart  for  a  good  growth  to  the  most  valuable  tim- 
ber. For  many  years  the  third  row  and  the  thinnings  from  the 
others  will  furnish  a  supply  of  firewood,  hoop-poles,  fence  rails, 
stakes,  etc. 

After  thirty  years'  experience  in  collecting  and  growing 
tree  seeds,  I  have  adopted  the  following  method,  viz. :  Procure 
boxes  six  inches  deep,  and  put  in  four  inches  of  sand  or  light 
mold  ;  on  this  sow  your  seed,  not  too  thick,  and  cover  with 
leaves  or  some  other  light  substance.  To  prevent  the  mice  from 
destroying  the  seeds,  nail  on  lath  close  enough  to  keep  them 
out,  leaving  space  enough  to  admit  moisture  and  air.  Place 
these  boxes  in  some  spot  where  the  seeds  will  freeze  in  Win- 


748  HARDIN  COUNTY,  OHIO. 

ter,  and  as  soon  as  the  ground  can  be  worked  in  the  Spring, 
plant  them  out  in  rows  as  above  directed.  They  should  be 
covered  with  light  soil,  not  deeply,  from  one-eighth  of  an  inch 
to  one  inch.  If  the  seeds  are  sprouted,  they  will  make  an 
early  and  strong  growth. 

The  following  list  of  trees  contains  all  of  the  most  valua- 
ble trees  for  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Iowa,  etc.  : 

Sugar  maple,  black  sugar  maple,  silver  maple,  red  maple, 
mountain  maple,  rough  buckeye,  smooth  buckeye,  pawpaw, 
berberry,  white  birch,  poplar  birch,  weeping  birch,  canoe  birch, 
sweet  birch,  water  beech,  black  hickory,  shell-bark  hickory, 
large-bark  hickory,  small-fruited  hickory,  thick  shell-bark 
hickory,  bitternut  hickory,  choke  cherry,  wild  black  cherry, 
green  dogwood,  large  white  dogwood,  white-berried  dogwood, 
red-twigged  dogwood,  leather  wood,  trailing  wahoo,  American 
beech,  white  ash,  blue  ash,  black  ash,  red  ash,  honey  locust, 
thornless  honey  locust,  small-pod  honey  locust,  coffee  tree, 
black  walnut,  cucumber  tree,  butternut,  red  mulberry,  box 
elder,  iron  wood,  buttonwood,  Winterberry,  wild  plum,  bird 
cherry,  mountain  ash,  Western  crab-apple,  American  aspen, 
cottonwood,  angled  cotton  wood,  white  oak,  chestnut  oak,  swamp 
oak,  Spanish  pin  oak,  red  oak,  hybrid  oak,  burr-oak,  mossy 
burr-oak,  olive  burr-oak,  bush  willow,  black  willow,  brittle 
willow,  common  and  red  elder,  meadow-sweet  bladder-nut, 
American  basswood,  white  elm,  slippery  elm,  rock  elm,  prickly 
ash. 


INDIANA. 


HENRY  C.  MEREDITH, 

CAMBRIDGE   CITY,    WAYNE   COUNTY. 

Sheep  Racks  and  Troughs. 

Experience  has  taught  me  that  there  are  several  better 
plans  for  sheep  racks  than  the  old  style  with  slats  nailed  to 
stringers,  which  have  an  open  front  for  hay  seed  and  other  lit- 
ter to  get  into  the  wool.  I  have  several  different  kinds,  the 
two  best  of  which  I  will  describe. 

The  first  I  made  in  a  very  simple  way,  and  it  can  be  put 
up  by  any  one.  I  take  two  by  four  scantling,  and  cut  into 
pieces  two  and  a  half  feet  long,  which  are  placed  upright 
eighteen  inches  from  the  wall  on  the  floor  of  the  sheep  pen. 
A  board  twelve  inches  wide  is  used  for  a  base  board,  and  a  five 
inch  board  for  top  ;  at  each  post  a  brace  is  nailed,  connecting 
with  the  wall.  This  makes  a  rack  like  the  following  : 


This  same  rack  can  be  made  double,  so  that  sheep  can 
feed  on  both  sides  at  the  same  time.  In  case  it  is  made  double 
it  would  have  to  be  made  down  the  middle  of  the  sheep  house, 


750  WAYNE  COUNTY,  INDIANA. 

and  should  be  thirty  inches  wide,  with  the  same  dimensions 
otherwise.  I  have  several  built  on  this  principle,  but  with  dif- 
ferent dimensions,  and  find  that  the  most  economical  ones  are 
made  as  here  suggested.  If  these  directions  are  closely  fol- 
lowed, it  will  be  found  that  there  is  ample  room  for  holding 
all  the  hay  that  sheep  standing  to  it  can  eat  in  twenty-four 
hours,  and  by  using  care  in  putting  the  hay  well  down  in  the 
rack,  there  is  no  danger  that  sheep  will  eat  from  the  top  and 
draw  the  hay  on  the  backs  of  the  others,  getting  seed  and 
litter  in  their  wool. 

I  also  find  a  rack  of  this  size  economical,  as  the  sheep  can 
readily  get  at  the  feed,  and  the  hight  of  the  base-board  being 
twelve  inches,  obviates  the  danger  of  dragging  out  the  hay 
under  their  feet. 

TROUGHS. 

When  grain  is  fed  and  this  rack  is  in  use,  I  have  troughs 
with  flat  bottoms,  ten  inches  wide,  along  one  side  of  the  build- 
ing. A  railing  is  placed  over  it  by  nailing  five-inch  boards  to 
two  by  four  uprights,  two  and  a  half  feet  high,  as  I  do  for  hay 
racks.  This  keeps  the  sheep  and  lambs  from  getting  into  the 
the  trough  with  their  feet,  which  is  a  great  detriment  to  their 
feeding  well.  A  trough  of  this  size  is  not  liable  to  have  any 
wasted  grain,  as  is  the  case  with  those  of  V  shape,  when  one 
board  is  simply  nailed  to  another.  If  you  make  those  V  shaped 
troughs  of  wide  lumber,  the  sheep  will  wear  their  wool  under 
the  neck,  which  makes  them  look  ragged.  The  flat  bottomed 
troughs  are  the  best,  and  most  economical. 

ANOTHER  RACK. 

The  other  style  of  rack  and  trough  combined  I  have  not 
used  as  long  as  the  first  mentioned,  but  I  like  it  equally  as 
well.  It  is  simple  of  construction,  takes  up  little  room, 
is  economical  with  feed,  and  is  certainly  worthy  of  recom- 
mendation. It  can  be  built  in  sections  of  any  desired  length, 
and  if  necessary,  can  be  made  portable. 

Take  two  by  four  scantling,  cut  four  feet  long ;  eighteen 
inches  from  one  end  saw  a  notch  two  inches  wide  diagonally 


CONSTRUCTION   OF   SHEEP  RACK.  751 

across,  so  as  to  allow  two  of  the  pieces  to  fit  together  like  a 
saw-buck,  thus  : 


Boards  ten  inches  wide  are  then  nailed  on  each  side  below 
the  crotch,  allowing  the  edges  to  meet  at  the  top,  thus,  A- 
Notches  are  sawed  at  intervals  to  allow  the  boards  to  fit  well 
around  the  cross  pieces.  This  board  is  made  the  back  side  of 
a  trough  by  nailing  a  six-inch  board  to  the  lower  edge  in  this 
manner : 


The  next  step  is  to  take  wide  boards,  the  wider  the  better, 
and  nail  to  the  outside  of  the  cross  pieces,  beginning  at  the 
bottom  and  boarding  up  tight,  leaving  a  space  between  the 
lower  edge  of  the  side  board  and  the  back  part  of  the  trough 
of  three  inches.  The  end  view  of  the  rack  would  be  like  this : 


When  it  is  designed  to  make  long  racks  and  troughs,  they 
need  not  be  made  so  strong  nor  so  well  braced  as  when  made 
shorter,  and  to  be  moved  from  one  place  to  another.- 


752  WAYNE   COUNTY,  INDIANA. 

Among  the  many  advantages  this  rack  has,  are,  first,  the 
small  space  it  occupies  for  the  feeding  room  it  gives,  accommo- 
dating sheep  on  both  sides  for  grain  and  hay  ;  and,  second,  the 
impossibility  of  hay  seed  and  litter  getting  into  their  wool, 
and  the  fact  that  all  seeds  and  small  grains  fall  into  the  trough 
where  the  sheep  gladly  eat-  them.  The  hay  being  placed 
above,  falls  below  as  it  is  eaten  from,  and  the  small  space 
from  which  it  is  taken  prevents  any  undue  waste.  The  top  of 
the  rack  is  so  high  that  sheep  can  not  eat  from  over  the  top, 
and  draw  the  hay  on  to  the  backs  of  the  other  sheep,  and  the 
troughs  and  racks  are  so  connected  that  there  is  no  temptation 
or  possibility  for  them  to  get  into  the  troughs  with  their  feet. 
I  find  that  open  sheds,  with  good,  tight  roofs,  are  the  best  and 
healthiest  places  for  sheep.  If  the  sheds  can  be  adjacent  to 
the  pasture,  so  that  the  sheep  may  go  in  or  out  at  pleasure,  it 
is  better  than  to  be  compelled  to  house  them  during  storms  or 
at  night.  A  flock  will  soon  seek  a  shelter  if  fed  well  there 
for  a  time.  During  the  Winter,  hay  or  some  coarse  food 
should  be  in  the  rack  at  all  times  for  them  to  pick  at. 

I  aim  to  allow  two  feet  trough  or  rack  room  for  each 
sheep,  though  for  smaller  breed  than  South-Downs  or  Cots- 
wolds,  less  would  answer  the  purpose  equally  as  well. 

HOUSING   SHEEP  AT   NIGHT. 

It  is  very  little  trouble,  however,  to  put  the  sheep  in  the 
house  every  night,  and  turn  them  to  pasture  in  the  morning, 
as  they  soon  learn  to  come  to  the  gate  as  the  cows  do. 

CLEANLINESS. 

Care  should  be  used  at  all  times  to  keep  the  house  from 
becoming  filthy,  as  sheep  are  cleanly  and  will  not  abide  in  a 
foul  house  if  they  can  help  it.  Neither  is  it  healthy  for  them 
to  do  so.  The  foot  rot  and  other  diseases  soon  attack  them  if 
not  kept  perfectly  dry  and  clean.  This  is  especially  necessary 
where  sheep  are  kept  in  large  numbers.  The  stables  or  sheds 
can  be  kept  dry  by  scattering  litter  over  the  floor  from  time  to 
time  as  needed,  until  the  manure  is  nearly  a  foot  deep,  when  it 
should  be  cleaned  out.  The  troughs  and  racks  I  have  described, 


MIXED  HUSBANDRY.  753 

provide  for  allowing  the  manure  to  accumulate  in  the  stable* 
as  that  place  is  preferable  to  any  other.  When  lambs  are  to 
be  >ed  extra  and  separate  from  the  ewes,  I  have  an  adjacent 
shed,  with  small  troughs  to  suit  arranged  in  it,  and  an  opening 
from  the  other  shed  just  large  enough  to  allow  the  lambs  to 
pass  in.  The  lambs  soon  learn  that  they  have  better  rations  in 
the  other  place,  and  are  very  quick  to  get  to  it  when  turned 
into  the  shed,  or  opportunity  offers. 


EDWARD  P.  WEYER, 

MADISON,    JEFFERSON    COUNTY. 

Stock  and  Bee  Farm  —  Short-Horns  —  Sheep  and  Hogs. 

SPRING   HILL   STOCK   AND   BEE   FARM. 

My  farm  is  located  within  one-half  mile  of  the  corporate 
limits  of  the  city  of  Madison,  Indiana,  and  contains  two  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  acres  of  fine  land  on  the  highlands 
extending  back  from  the  Ohio  river,  the  surface  rolling  suffi- 
ciently to  afford  good  natural  drainage.  The  soil  is  a  deep  fer- 
tile loam  overlying  a  subsoil  of  red  clay,  and  is  well  supplied 
with  abundance  of  soft  limestone  water  from  conveniently  sit- 
uated living  springs.  My  usual  practice  has  been  a  course  of 
mixed  husbandry,  with  the  raising  of  cattle,  sheep,  and  hogs, 
though  the  farm  is  well  adapted  to  branches  of  nearly  every 
kind.  I  have  now  under  cultivation  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
acres,  the  remainder  being  occupied  by  the  buildings,  orchards, 
open  and  woods  pasture,  timber,  etc. 

GRAIN. 

Wheat  is  the  only  grain  product  usually  sold  from  my 
farm,  though  I  have  grown  barley  successfully.  All  corn,  oats, 
and  hay,  I  consume  on  the  place.  I  have  never  ascertained 
the  cost  of  each  particular  crop,  but  my  accounts  have  always 

48 


764 


JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  INDIANA, 


A_Bedplaces 

B-Feeding  porch 

C-Yard  to  each  pen 

D- Large  yard 

t  -Feeding  troughs 

s-Shelves  to  prevent  overlying 

g -Gates 


CATTLE  AND  HORSE  BARNS. 


755 


756  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  INDIANA. 

been  made  up  in  the  aggregate,  approximating  only  the  cost  of 
each  item  ;  therefore  I  can  give  no  details. 

HORSES. 

Jefferson  county  for  years  has  had  an  excellent  reputation 
for  the  quality  and  character  of  its  horses  for  speed,  several 
stallions  of  fine  breeding  being  owned  in  this  and  adjoining  coun- 
ties. On  my  farm,  "Arab  Star  "  is  making  a  season.  He  is  a 
chestnut  horse,  foaled  1875,  by  Heinzel's  American  Star,  dam 
Zelica,  an  Arabian  mare ;  was  bred  and  is  owned  by  John  P. 
Newell,  of  Florida,  N.  Y.,  and  is  registered  in  the  stud  book. 

NEAT  STOCK. 

I  have  raised  high  grade  Short-Horns,  using  a  thorough- 
bred bull,  not  of  fashionable  pedigree,  regard  being  had  more 
to  his  form  and  constitutional  vigor  for  producing  early  matur- 
ing animals.  I  use  Jersey  grade  cows  for  this  cross,  but  they 
do  not  answer  so  well  as  grade  Short-Horns,  because  my  object 
is  to  obtain  the  greatest  amount  of  flesh  in  the  shortest  time, 
without  much  regard  to  the  milking  qualities,  though  this  is 
not  entirely  lost  sight  of. 

My  cattle  are  housed  in  clean,  well  ventilated  stables. 
The  feed  is  made  up  with  starch  feed  meal  base,  with  bran, 
etc.,  changing  the  mixture  occasionally,  and  feeding  regularly 
only  just  so  much  as  will  be  eaten  up  clean  at  one  time.  I 
supply  with  an  abundance  of  pure  water ;  not  the  drainage 
of  the  barn-yard,  or  from  stagnant  ponds.  The  success  of 
my  method  is  indicated  by  the  weights  of  two  calves  sold  a 
short  time  since,  one  fifteen  months'  old  heifer  weighing  nine 
hundred  and  forty-five  pounds,  and  one  five  months'  old  bull 
weighing  five  hundred  and  eighty-five  pounds. 

COTSWOLDS. 

My  sheep  are  high  grade  Cotswold,  shearing  six  to  eight 
pounds  of  wool  each.  My  custom  has  been  to  sell  the  buck 
lambs  in  early  Summer  and  the  cullings  of  the  flock  in  the 
Winter.  Their  feed  is  the  same  as  I  give  to  the  cattle,  and  I 
provide  them  with  roomy,  open  sheds,  enclosed  by  a  high  paling 


SHEEP  BARN. 


757 


Sheep  Barr 
Spring  Hill  Stock  and  Bee 

Farm 
Madison.  Ind. 


758  JEFFERSON  COUNTY,  INDIANA. 

fence,  to  protect  them  from  prowling,  murderous  dogs.  The 
splendid  natural  drainage  of  my  land  fits  it  especially  for  a 
choice  sheep  farm. 

HOGS. 

My  swine  are  thorough-bred  Poland  Chinas,  and  are  in 
demand  in  this  market.  This  breed  assimilates  food  readily, 
matures  early,  and  usually  brings  from  fifteen  to  twenty-five 
cents  per  100  pounds  above  the  ruling  prices.  I  arrange  it  so 
that  my  sows  farrow  early  in  February,  and  again  in  late  Sum- 
mer, and  I  push  the  young  pigs  from  the  start,  to  have  them 
ready  to  sell  at  from  ten  months  to  one  year  old.  My  pigs  have 
been  unusually  healthy,  which  I  attribute  to  my  care  to  avoid 
inbreeding,  and  by  the  judicious  use  of  antiseptics.  At  least 
once  a  week,  and  often  a  second  time,  I  give  in  their  feed  a 
mixture  of  equal  parts  of  powdered  charcoal,  roll  brimstone, 
sulphate  of  iron  (copperas),  salt. 

The  base  of  the  hog  feed  consists  of  the  refuse  from 
the  starch  works,  with  linseed  or  decorticated  cottonseed 
oil  meal,  and  sometimes  the  coarser  starch  feed  meal  is 
added,  to  obviate  the  costive  tendency  of  the  slop.  The  im- 
portance, also,  of  clean  bed  places  and  pure  water,  is  thus 
shown  to  be  as  a  factor  in  swine  raising. 

BEES. 

The  culture  of  bees  is  the  only  specialty  I  have  made  on 
the  farm,  the  hive,  and  other  implements  used,  being  of  local 
invention.  This  hive  is  the  result  of  many  years'  practical  ex- 
perience, and  is  of  large  size  and  well  ventilated,  as  I  see  the 
necessity  of  supplying  abundant  room  for  the  bees  and  surplus 
honey,  if  I  would  obtain  any  profit.  Artificial  swarming  I  al- 
most exclusively  practise,  for  the  purpose  of  retaining  the 
greatest  number  of  working  bees  together  in  the  hive,  to  gather 
the  flush  flow  of  honey  when  it  comes.  In  the  Winter  my 
bees  are  left  on  their  Summer  stands,  and  the  extra  space 
around  the  brood  chamber  is  packed  with  chaff,  cut  straw,  or 
dry  leaves,  to  protect  them  from  sudden  changes  of  weather 
and  excessive  cold.  At  the  same  time  it  enables  me  to  give 


BEE  GARDEN. 


769 


760  JEFFERSON   COUNTY,  INDIANA. 

them  at  any  time  needed  food  to  stimulate  or  prevent  Spring 
dwindling. 

COMB    HONEY. 

Comb  honey  I  obtain  in  single  comb  sections,  containing  one 
and  one  and  a  half  pounds  each,  respectively.  These  sections 
are  held  in  place  by  holders  of  improved  shape  and  construc- 
tion, and  are  readily  removed  or  placed  in  the  hive.  To  obtain 
extracted  honey,  I  use  the  same  hive,  making  a  few  simple 
changes,  and  having  as  many  as  eighteen  frames  or  comb-hold- 
ers in  a  row,  but  not,  as  in  all  other  hives,  placing  one  tier  of 
frames  over  another.  With  this  hive  the  management  of  the 
honey  bee  becomes  an  easy,  pleasant,  and  profitable  employ- 
ment. This  branch  of  my  farm  business  I  find  more  profitable 
than  any  other,  in  comparison  with  the  capital  and  labor  re- 
quired. But  unless  a  farmer  finds  pleasure  in  the  occupation, 
is  willing  to  devote  some  time  to  the  study  of  the  nature 
and  habits  of  his  busy  little  friends,  and  will  give  careful,  intel- 
ligent attention  to  their  wants,  by  providing  suitable  imple- 
ments and  hives,  any  outlay  in  this  direction  is  sure  to  meet 
with  failure.  Should  he,  however,  engage  in  it  earnestly,  at 
first  only  in  a  small  way,  and  increase  the  business  as  he  gains 
in  knowledge  and  experience,  he  will  be  certain  to  have  hand- 
some returns  on  his  investment. 

FRUIT. 

I  grow  the  usual  varieties  of  apples,  pears,  peaches,  plums, 
quinces,  and  cherries.  It  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  say,  that 
the  Rev.  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  when  a  young  man,  preaching 
in  the  then  West,  selected  the  varieties  of  apples  for  my  oldest 
orchard.  A  number  of  farms  in  this  vicinity,  averaging  from 
fifty  to  three  hundred  acres,  are  devoted  exclusively  to  fruit 
raising,  principally  the  peach.  Peach  trees  can  be  counted  by 
the  thousands,  and  during  a  fruit  year  the  business  in  this  line 
is  immense. 


FARM  IMPLEMENTS.  761 

I.  B.  SMITH, 

QTTEENSVILLE,  JENNINGS   COUNTY. 
Corn  —  Stock  —  Creameries  —  Fruit  —  Buildings. 

I  commenced  farming  some  forty-three  years  ago,  with,  no 
other  capital  than  my  hands  and  brains  and  a  good  constitu- 
tion. I  now  own  thirteen  hundred  acres,  all  fenced,  and 
nearly  all  under  a  good  state  of  cultivation.  This  land  has 
cost  me  from  sixteen  to  forty  dollars  per  acre.  These  lands 
are  divided  into  three  farms  of  400,  425,  and  500  acres  each, 
lying  near  each  other.  I  have  from  four  to  five  hundred  acres 
in  meadow  timothy,  clover,  and  red  top.  I  raise  from  sixty  to 
eighty  acres  of  corn,  annually  ;  from  thirty  to  fifty  acres  of 
oats,  and  from  forty  to  one  hundred  acres  of  wheat.  These 
are  my  principal  crops.  The  rest  of  my  farms  are  in  pasturage. 

FARM    IMPLEMENTS. 

I  have  three  mowing  machines,  and  one  combined  machine, 
all  Champions.  I  have  one  of  Foust's  hay-loaders.  I  have 
four  harpoon  forks,  of  three  different  patterns,  which  I  con- 
sider of  great  advantage.  I  have,  in  addition,  six  horse-rakes, 
also  racks  and  carriers  in  three  of  my  barns.  I  have  five  chilled 
breaking  plows,  and  three  steel  plows.  The  chilled  plows  are 
of  Oliver's  patent,  and  Wagner's.  I  also  use  two  double  culti- 
vators, and  six  double  shovel-plows.  I  have,  also,  four  har- 
rows of  different  patterns,  but  give  the  preference  to  a  spring- 
tooth  harrow  made  at  Kalamazoo,  Mich.  I  have,  also,  the  corn 
and  wheat  drills,  besides  the  ordinary  small  wing  plows,  some 
four  in  number,  and  also  one  sub-soil  plow. 

STOCK. 

In  regard  to  the  stock  I  keep,  I  have  fifteen  horses  and 
mules,  seven  teams,  and  one  single  horse.  1  have  five  two- 


762  JENNINGS  COUNTY,  INDIANA. 

horse  wagons,  one  carriage,  and  one  buggy.     I  usually  keep 
from  thirty  to  sixty  steers  and  heifers,  besides  milch  cows. 

HOGS. 

I  always  keep  from  forty  to  seventy  hogs.  I  do  not  keet) 
sheep,  as  dogs  are  so  destructive. 

I  keep  stock  principally  to  use  up  such  food  on  the  farm 
as  I  can  not  sell  to  advantage.  I  do  not  consider  stock  raising 
very  profitable,  unless  the  very  best  blooded  animals  are 
raised.  I  aim  to  feed  all  of  my  grain  out  on  the  farm,  except- 
ing wheat,  and  make  all  of  the  manure  I  possibly  can  ;  and  I 
buy  all  the  manure  I  can,  and  put  it  on  top  of  the  ground. 

HORSES. 

I  find  that  the  best  horses  are  our  common,  largest  mares, 
bred  to  the  best  fast-trotting  stock.  These  make  the  best 
horses  for  general  farm  work,  as  they  will  plow  all  day  and 
kick  up  their  heels  at  night,  and  also  make  splendid  roadsters. 
I  have  several  that  can  travel  from  six  to  ten  miles  an  hour 
without  much  fatigue,  but  I  use  mules  for  slow,  constant  work. 
I  want  my  horses  to  weigh  from  twelve  to  fourteen  hundred 
pounds  each,  and  mules  not  less  than  1,000  pounds. 

CATTLE. 

I  regard  the  Short-Horn  as  being  altogether  the  best  for 
beef,  and  many  of  them  make  splendid  milkers. 

POLAND   CHINA  HOGS. 

I  have  raised  all  of  the  leading  breeds  of  hogs  for  many 
years,  but  I  give  the  preference  to  the  Poland  China,  as  they 
make  the  largest  hog  with  the  same  amount  of  food.  I  sell 
most  of  my  hogs  on  foot. 

I  buy  my  steers  in  the  Spring,  and  pasture  them  till  Fall, 
and  then  sell  them  at  the  Cincinnati  market.  I  keep  a  suffi- 
cient number  to  eat  up  the  straw,  and  feed  some  corn  in  the 
Spring,  but  do  not  rely  on  stock  or  grain  raising  as  my  principal 
source  of  making  money.  There  is  too  much  cost  and  risk  to 
pay  well. 


FERTILITY  —  FRUIT  RAISING.  763 

HAY  PAYS   BEST. 

I  have  made  the  most  of  my  money  by  raising  and  baling 
hay.  I  cut  eight  hundred  acres  that  will  make  from  one  to 
one  and  one-half  tons  per  acre.  I  can  cut  and  put  it  in  the 
barns,  by  the  aid  of  machinery,  for  two  dollars  per  ton.  I  can 
press  it  and  deliver  it  on  the  cars  for  two  dollars  per  ton,  and 
send  to  the  markets  of  Louisville,  Cincinnati,  Madison  and  In- 
dianapolis, where  I  get  from  eight  to  twelve  dollars  per  ton, 
which,  after  deducting  interest  on  cost  of  land  and  the  use  of 
buildings  and  hay  press,  wear  of  machinery,  and  use  of  teams, 
leaves  a  clear  profit  in  a  fair  season  of  from  four  to  six  dollars 
per  acre. 

FERTILITY  KEPT   UP. 

In  order  to  keep  up  the  fertility  of  the  land  in  raising  hay, 
I  recommend  the  following  every  fifth  year.  Turn  under  in 
June  the  entire  crop,  cross  plow  in  September,  sow  to  wheat, 
seed  down  to  clover  and  timothy,  three-fourths  timothy.  That 
amount  of  clover  will  not  hurt  the  sale  of  the  hay,  and  has  a 
good  effect  in  keeping  up  the  fertility  of  the  soil. 

FRUIT  RAISING. 

I  have  about  two  thousand  bearing  apple  trees  of  the 
choicest  kinds.  I  took  high,  rolling  clay  loam,  resting  on 
limestone,  subsoiled  it  eighteen  inches  deep,  laid  it  off  thirty 
feet  apart,  and  planted  the  trees  carefully,  spreading  the  roots 
and  putting  good  soil  near  them.  I  cut  back  the  tops,  culti- 
vated in  corn  two  years,  and  fed  the  corn  on  the  ground.  I 
sowed  to  oats  and  clover,  hogged  off  the  oats,  and  turned 
under  the  clover  the  second  year  in  June.  I  have  turned  under 
clover  for  the  past  six  years.  The  trees  are  fine  and  thrifty 
and  bear  large,  fine  fruit  in  fruit  years. 

I  do  not  sell  apples  largely  in  fruit  seasons.  The  price 
is  very  low  for  Summer  and  Fall  fruit,  and  our  Winter  fruit 
does  not  keep  as  well  as  further  north. 

BEST   APPLES. 

I  regard  the  Early  Strawberry,  Early  Margaret,  Golden 
Russet,  as  the  best  early  apples.  The  Maiden's  Blush,  Rambo, 


764  JENNINGS  COUNTY,  INDIANA. 

Gravenstein  and  Fall  Pippin,  are  among  the  best  Fall  apples. 
Rome  Beauty,  Smith's  Cider,  Baldwin,  Roxbury  Russet,  Tulpa- 
hocken,  Rawle's  Janet,  White  Pearmain  and  Ben  Davis,  are 
all  good  Winter  apples. 

PEAKS. 

I  have  one  thousand  pear  trees  just  beginning  to  bear. 
I  planted  and  cultivated  just  as  I  did  my  apple  orchard,  except- 
ing that  I  planted  them  twenty  feet  each  way.  They  are 
nearly  all  standards  and  mostly  of  the  following  varieties  :  five 
hundred  Bartlett,  about  fifty  each  of  Buffum,  Flemish  Beauty, 
Rossiter,  Duchesse  d'  Angoul£me,  Seckel,  Hanney  and  others. 
They  are  now  nine  years  old,  and  beginning  to  bear.  I  raise 
the  small  fruits  and  grapes  for  home  consumption. 

CREAMERIES. 

I  have  had  some  experience  in  furnishing  milk  and  in 
observing  the  running  of  the  factory.  I  am  of  opinion  that 
making  butter  and  cheese  is  very  good  business  when  well 
managed,  and  is  profitable  to  farmers.  A  home  market  is  made 
for  their  produce  and  it  keeps  up  the  soil. 

BARNS. 

I  have  six  barns.  My  nearest  barn  is  about  twelve  rods 
from  my  dwelling  house,  and  is  forty-seven  by  one  hundred  and 
sixteen  feet.  My  carriage  and  tool  house  is  sixteen  by  forty- 
seven  ;  stable,  twelve  by  forty-seven ;  feed  room,  eight  by 
forty-seven.  All  these  are  at  one  end  of  the  barn.  At  the 
other  end  is  a  stable,  twelve  by  forty-seven  feet,  a  threshing 
floor,  twenty-four  by  twenty-four,  a  granary,  twelve  by  four- 
teen, two  more  stables,  twelve  by  twelve  each.  The  middle 
of  the  barn  is  one  large  mow.  I  have  another  barn,  about 
fourteen  rods  from  the  house,  sixty  by  sixty  feet,  with  hay 
press  in  the  center.  This  barn  is  entirely  for  hay  and  holds 
about  one  hundred  and  twenty  tons.  The  third  barn  is  halt  a 
mile  from  dwelling,  and  is  forty-five  by  eighty-five ;  there  is 
a  stable  across  one  end,  with  a  cistern ;  the  remainder  is 
entirely  for  hay,  and  holds  ninety  tons.  My  fourth  barn  is  for 
dairy  cows,  and  is  forty-eight  by  forty-eight.  The  stables  are 


BARNS  —  SHEEP.  765 

on  three  sides,  with  stanchions  for  twenty  cows  and  four  horses. 
A  room  for  bran  is  at  one  end,  six  by  eighteen  feet,  with  loft 
overhead,  and  twenty-four  square  feet  in  the  center  of  the  barn 
for  feed. 

Barn  number  five  is  twenty-six  by  sixty-six  feet,  with  a 
stable  twelve  feet  across  one  end.  The  remainder  is  designed 
for  hay.  Barn  number  six  is  sixty  by  sixty  feet,  with  stable  on 
one  side  and  sheds  for  stock  on  two  sides,  with  a  granary  and 
room  for  eighty  tons  of  hay.  The  land  here  is  clay  loam,  well 
timbered.  It  is  good  pasture  land,  well  watered  and  tolerably 
good  for  wheat  and  corn. 


T.  KEENE, 

VALPARAISO,  PORTER  COUNTY. 

Sheep  —  Hogs  —  Drainage. 

*  V 

My  farm  lies  one  and  a  half  miles  north  of  the  city  of  Val- 
paraiso, and  is  what  is  called  barren  land,  the  timber  growing 
short  and  scrubby.  The  soil  is  clay.  My  husbandry  is  mixed, 
and  I  raise  no  more  grain  than  I  feed,  except  wheat.  Clover, 
I  think,  kills  after  the  second  year,  if  sown  clear.  Timothy  is 
a  sure  crop  and  pays  better  than  grain. 

SHEEP. 

My  soil  is  well  adapted  to  sheep  raising  and  they  are  my 
favorite  stock,  but  we  have  a  serious  drawback,  one  which 
has  discouraged  some  of  my  neighbors,  and  that  is,  dogs. 
It  is  a  shame  to  be  obliged  to  watch  your  sheep  during  the  day 
and  yard  them  at  night,  in  order  to  save  them  from  blood- 
thirsty curs,  but  such  is  the  case.  Last  Summer  I  left  my  flock 
a  few  nights  in  my  orchard  lot,  and  lost  five  per  cent,  of  them 
in  one  night  as  the  result. 

BEGINNING  A  FLOCK. 

I  commenced  my  flock  by  buying  some  natives  with  wool- 
less  legs  and  bellies,  shearing  less  than  three  pounds  to  the 


766  PORTER  COUNTY,  INDIANA. 

head.  I  first  used  a  Cotswold  buck,  which  gave  me  large 
bodies  but  light  fleeces.  I  do  not  think  he  was  a  number  one 
sheep.  I  then  used  a  Merino  buck  which  sheared  seventeen 
pounds.  This  cross  gave  me  good  frames  and  good  fleeces,  and 
I  am  well  pleased  with  the  result,  but  shall  use  the  best  Cots- 
wold  I  can  get  next  year. 

NOT   MUCH   STOCK. 

I  keep  a  few  cows  and  some  young  stock,  but  pasture  is  too 
expensive  to  make  it  profitable  raising  beef  for  market. 

HOGS. 

I  consider  the  Berkshire  and  China  hogs  the  best  breeds 
for  our  market.  The  Berkshires  are  restless,  while  the  Chinas 
are  quiet.  Both  breeds  do  well  with  plenty  to  eat  and  good 
care.  I  like  to  see  a  clean  stable,  and  I  dislike  to  see  a  filthy 
hog-pen.  I  grind  some  of  my  corn  for  fattening  hogs,  and  all 
my  feed  for  cows  and  ewes  suckling  lambs.  I  use  the  Chal- 
lenge feed  mill,  run  by  horse  power.  ,  It  takes  no  longer  to 
grind  it  myself  than  it  does  to  carry  it  to  mill  and  back, 
and  then  I  save  the  toll,  which  is  quite  an  item.  Then  I 
use  my  power  for  cutting  straw,  shelling  corn,  and  sawing 
wood. 

FEEDING. 

I  feed  all  my  straw  in  racks  and  mangers,  and  what  is  not 
eaten  is  thrown  into  the  yards.  Sheep  and  cattle  are  yarded 
on  it  during  the  Summer.  I  haul  it  out  in  the  Fall  and  spread 
from  the  wagon  and  plow  under  for  a  Spring  crop,  or,  if  needed, 
put  on  Winter  wheat  at  time  of  sowing.  I  used  to  haul  and 
unload  in  heaps,  making  four  to  six  of  each  load,  and  then 
spread  them  at  the  time  of  plowing,  but  have  learned  a  better 
way. 

DRAINING. 

I  have  had  some  experience  in  draining,  having  at  least 
thirty  acres  of  marsh  on  my  farm,  which,  when  I  bought  it, 
was  considered  worthless  land.  It  laid  to  commons,  and 
was  so  soft  and  miry  that  I  was  frequently  obliged  to  pull  cat- 
tle out  of  the  mire  and  float  them  out  to  dry  land,  I  was 


DRAINAGE  PROFITABLE.  767 

inexperienced  in  draining,  but  resolved  to  try  my  skill  in  the 
business.  The  water  would  stand  from  six  to  eighteen  inches 
deep  through  the  Winter,  and  some  seasons  nearly  through  the 
Summer.  In  cutting  the  outlet  I  was  obliged  to  dig  through 
stiff  clay  about  fifty  rods,  thirty  rods  three  feet  deep,  and 
twenty  rods  five  feet  deep,  and  six  feet  wide  on  the  top.  This 
cost  me  fifty  cents  per  rod,  and  board.  After  getting  into  the 
mire  I  did  not  go  so  deep,  and  it  cost  me  about  thirty  cents 
per  rod.  I  cut  them  on  three  sides,  the  road  being  on  the 
fourth.  After  letting  it  lie  for  three  years,  I  plowed  it  in  the 
Fall  and  planted  to  corn  the  following  Spring. 

I  have  raised  three  crops  of  good  corn  in  succession.  One 
year  I  had  my  land  in  oats,  but  just  as  they  came  up  a  heavy 
rain  arose  which  flooded  all  low  lands,  and  the  ditches  at  the 
outlet  not  being  large  enough  to  carry  the  water  off, 
they  were  drowned  out.  Last  year  I  raised  a  good  crop  of 
Winter  rye.  While  I  have  been  cultivating  it  I  have  widened 
the  ditches  so  that  I  can  cross  at  any  place  with  a  loaded 
wagon  or  reaper.  I  advocate  tile  drains,  believing  they  will 
pay  for  themselves  in  two  years  at  least.  I  shall  commence 
putting  them  in  this  .season.  I  can  get  the  ditches  dug  and 
filled  for  twenty-five  to  thirty  cents  per  rod. 


JOHN  WEIR, 

TERRE  HAUTE,    VIGO    COUNTY. 
Rotation  of  Crops  —  A  verage   Yield  of  Fields. 

My  farm  consists  of  eighty  acres,  and  is  divided  into  eight 
ten  acre  lots.  My  house,  outbuildings,  orchard,  and  blue  grass 
pasture  occupy  ten  acres.  The  remaining  seventy  acres  I  work. 

ROTATION    OF    CROPS. 

I  practice  rotation,  planting  first  potatoes.  As  soon  as 
they  are  dug,  I  sow  the  same  ground  to  wheat.  As  soon  as  the 
wheat  crop  is  off  the  ground,  I  put  in  wheat  a  second  time. 


768 


VIGO   COUNTY,  INDIANA. 


At  some  time  in  February,  I  sow  clover  seed  on  the  wheat,  let- 
ting the  clover  stand  two  years.  I  either  pasture  or  mow  it. 
After  the  clover,  I  plant  the  land  with  corn  two  years,  and 
then  plant  potatoes  again.  Thus  it  takes  seven  years  to  make 
a  rotation.  As  I  have  seven  fields,  I  have  one  field  in  pota- 
toes, two  in  wheat,  two  in  clover,  and  two  in  corn  each  year. 

PLAN   OF   FIELDS. 

The  plan  I  submit  has  the  fields  numbered  1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6, 
7.  The  dots  along  the  edge  denote  soft  maples  that  I  have 
planted  inside  of  the  fence  along  the  public  road.  They  stand 
about  two  rods  apart.  The  dots  in  the  lawn  fronting  the  house 
represent  timber,  such  as  poplar,  elm,  dogwood,  ash,  pine, 
cherries,  black  walnut,  cedar,  and  pecan.  These  trees  have 
been  planted  over  twenty-five  years. 

Figure  1  represents  the  location  of  the  house.  Figure  2 
shows  the  site  of  the  horse  barn,  cow  stable,  and  carriage 
house.  I  have  a  lifting  apparatus  for  raising  two  wagon  boxes 
and  two  hay  racks,  with  room  enough  for  two  wagons  and  two 
buggies. 

By  attaching  a  table  like  this  to  each  field,  I  ascertain  the 
yield  of  each  at  a  glance  : 


Year. 

Kind  of  Crop. 

Bushels 
1st   year. 

Tons  of 
Hay. 

Price  per 
Bushel. 

Price  per 
Ton. 

Bushels 
of  Seed. 

1878 

Potatoes  .   . 

75 

.35 

1879 

Wheat  .    .    . 

18 

.90 

1880 

Wheat  

24 

.90 

1881 

Clover  . 

30 

$6  00 

20 

1882 

Clover  

25 

5  00 

22 

1883 

Corn 

70 

.35 

1884 

Corn  

65 

.40 



The  crosses  in  the  plat  of  blue  grass  denote  large  forest 
trees,  blackberry,  ash,  black  walnut,  elm,  and  sugar  trees. 
They  are  from  twenty  to  thirty  inches  in  diameter. 

COW   STABLE. 

My  stable  for  cows  has  sufficient  space  for  the  accommo- 


PLAN   OF  FARM. 

W 


769 


= 

°                   No.  6. 

No.  5. 

3 

No.  7. 

No.  4. 

BLUE  GBASS  PASTURE. 
X 
x                           X 
XX                          3 

X                        X 

No  3 

X 

x           x            2  6 

.'.  ..*...'...".              4  Orchani. 

1     K 

0 

a 
i 

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£ 

No.l. 

No.  2. 

PUBLIC              I 

]              ROAD. 

49 


770  VIGO  COUNTY,  INDIANA. 

dation  of  five  cows.  Figure  3  shows  a  barn,  sixty  feet  square, 
for  hay  and  stock.  Figure  4  is  an  outbuilding  for  hands  to 
stay  in.  Figure  5  is  a  woodhouse  and  smoke  house.  Figure 
6  is  a  building  twelve  by  fourteen ;  the  floor  and  ceiling  of  this 
building  are  both  plastered.  Where  two  pieces  of  scantling 
reach  from  the  floor  to  the  ceiling,  about  eighteen  inches  apart 
on  each  square  of  the  building,  I  set  a  plow  with  the  land  side 
to  these  scantling,  and  then  put  pins  or  brackets  in  the  scant- 
ling to  hold  another  plow.  I  place  it  so  high  that  it  will  not 
rest  on  the  first  plow.  So  on  as  long  as  I  have  plows  to  set 
away.  I  can  thus  take  any  plow  out  without  disturbing  the 
rest  of  the  plows. 

I  have   a   cellar   under  the  main  building,  eighteen   by 
eighteen,  and  one  under  the  kitchen  fourteen  by  twenty-four. 


STABLE  AND  CRIB. 


771 


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IN 

STALLS. 


772  GREENE  COUNTY,  INDIANA. 

JOHN  MILLER, 

RICHLAND,   GREENE  COUNTY. 

Soil  —  Stock   Feeding  —  Timothy    and    Oats  —  Corn    Crib   and 

Barn. 

My  farm  is  situated  in  Richland  and  Fairplay  townships, 
and  consists  of  four  hundred  and  forty-one  acres,  all  under  good 
fence.  One  hundred  and  fifty-five  acres  are  White  river 
bottom  land  and  two  hundred  and  eighty-six  acres  are  upland. 
This  bottom  land  is  of  the  quality  for  which  the  west  fork  of 
White  river  is  so  favorably  known.  One  hundred  and  thirty- 
five  acres  of  this  are  under  cultivation,  and  are  exclusively  used 
for  raising  corn.  The  upland  is  high,  rolling  ground,  elevated 
fifty  or  sixty  feet  above  the  river  valley.  In  some  parts  it  is 
rather  broken,  and  was,  thirty  years  ago,  covered  with  very 
heavy  timber, — beach,  poplar,  black  walnut,  ash,  and  oak  pre- 
dominating. For  a  number  of  years  I  kept  a  saw-mill  on  this 
land,  converting  all  the  timber,  not  used  for  fencing  or  other 
farm  purposes  into  lumber. 

SOIL. 

The  soil  on  the  north  part  is  a  loamy  clay,  while  on  the 
south  and  southwest  it  is  a  black,  loamy  sand.  Here  sand- 
stone of  durability  is  cropping  out  in  several  places,  which  has 
been  utilized  in  constructing  the  farm  buildings.  Running 
water  and  springs  are  found  in  all  but  two  fields.  Ninety  acres 
remain  yet  in  timber,  having  removed  the  under  growth,  and 
sowed  the  land  to  blue  grass.  I  use  this  for  pasture.  I  have 
seventy-five  acres  in  timothy  and  clover  at  present,  forty  of 
which  will  be  cut  for  hay,  and  the  rest  pastured.  Fifty-five 
acres  are  sown  to  Fultz  wheat,  and  about  twelve  acres  are 
planted  in  orchard,  vines,  small  fruits  and  garden.  To  this 
must  be  added  ground  occupied  by  mv  buildings  and  yards, 
and  two  fields  directly  connected  with  the  barn  lot,  and  which 


STOCK  FEEDING  — COMMON   STEERS.  773 

I  keep  for  young  cattle  and  horse  pasture.     Sometimes  I  plow 
them  up. 

STOCK    FEEDING. 

I  combine  stock  feeding  with  grain  raising.  I  sell  no  grain 
but  wheat,  and  I  feed  all  the  corn,  oats  and  hay  I  raise  on  the 
place.  I  raise  no  horses,  and  keep  but  seven  head,  three  teams 
and  an  extra  horse  for  general  use,  on  the  place. 

FATTENING    HOGS. 

For  a  number  of  years  I  have  fattened  between  four  and  five 
hundred  head  annually,  averaging  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds, 
three-quarters  of  which  I  bought  when  shoats.  But  owing  to 
the  prevalence  of  hog  diseases  and  low  prices  in  market,  I  have 
lately  paid  more  attention  to  cattle.  Poland  China  and  Berk- 
shires  are  the  breeds  which  I  prefer.  At  the  time  of  feeding 
cattle  grain,  either  in  the  stable  or  the  pasture,  I  allow  a  suffi- 
cient number  of  hogs  to  run  with  them  to  pick  up  the  corn 
wasted.  The  usual  number  of  cattle  kept  on  the  place  is  be- 
tween forty  and  fifty,  but  I  feed  yearly  seventy-five  to  eighty 
head,  partly  turned  off  from  the  grass,  and  partly  corn  fed. 

COMMON    STEERS. 

I  buy  steers  of  average  country  grade  and  turn  them  off 
when  just  passed  two  years  in  Fall,  and  three  years  in  the  Sum- 
mer. I  feed  first  in  Fall  on  bottom  stalk  fields,  then  on  straw 
till  the  middle  of  February,  then  hay  and  corn  till  grass  is 
plenty.  I  feed  blue  grass  early  in  the  Spring,  timothy  in  Sum- 
mer, and  return  to  blue  grass  in  the  Fall.  The  last  two  years 
I  raised  those  that  averaged  about  one  thousand  pounds,  and 
three  years  old  thirteen  hundred  pounds.  Their  average  gain, 
gross  weight,  during  the  pasture  season  is  three  hundred 
pounds.  I  keep  a  Durham  bull,  but  have  only  graded  cows, 
and  I  make  enough  out  of  butter  and  poultry  to  pay  for  all  my 
family  groceries.  I  have  used  a  corn  crusher,  but  believe  it  is 
cheaper  to  follow  hogs  after  cattle. 

SHEEP. 
I  have  but  fifty  head  of  sheep,  owing  to  the    number  of 


774  GREENE  COUNTY,  INDIANA. 

cattle  and  hogs  on  my  place,  but  I  am  strongly  impressed  that 
sheep  raising  and  feeding  will  pay,  and  if  hog  diseases  continue, 
I  shall  direct  my  attention  to  raising  sheep. 

HOW    I  RAISE   COEN. 

My  bottom  land  is  annually  planted  in  corn.  I  drag  the 
stalks  down  (will  try  a  stalk  cutter),  rake  them  together,  and 
burn  them  before  plowing.  Corn  planted  three  and  one-half 
feet  apart  both  ways,  and  cultivated  four  times  with  a  two- 
horse  cultivator,  yields  sixty  to  seventy  bushels  of  shelled  corn 
per  acre.  I  husk  my  corn  as  soon  as  dry  enough  to  crib  it,  and 
my  stalk  fields  are  pastured  with  cattle.  I  devote  thirty  to 
forty  acres  of  upland  each  year  to  this  crop.  For  this  purpose 
a  sod  is  turned  over  early  in  Spring,  planted  and  cultivated  as 
would  bottom  land,  and  I  have  an  average  yield  of  fifty  bushels 
per  acre.  Formerly  I  plowed  my  sod  in  the  Fall,  but  I  find 
corn  grows  stronger  and  is  easier  tended  when  I  break  early  in 
the  Spring.  The  upland  crop,  however,  I  do  not  remove,  but 
my  hogs  are  turned  on  as  soon  as  the  corn  is  in  good  roasting 
ears,  say  August  tenth,  and  eaten  off. 

In  September  I  turn  the  stalks  under,  harrow  the  ground, 
and  spread  about  seven  four-horse  wagon  loads  of  manure  over 
the  surface.  Then  I  cross  harrow  and  drill  one  bushel  of  wheat 
in  to  the  acre,  together  with  one  bushel  of  timothy  seed  to  each 
ten  acres.  I  use  the  seed  sower  before  the  hoes.  In  the  Spring 
I  sow  one  bushel  of  clover  seed  to  about  ten  acres,  cross  ways. 
My  average  yield  of  wheat  for  the  last  five  years  on  all  land 
sown  is  twenty  bushels.  On  good  land  I  sometimes  raise  a 
second  crop  of  wheat;  when  such  is  the  case,  I  always  give  it 
a  light  top  dressing  of  manure.  If  I  follow  the  oat  ground 
with  wheat,  the  manure  is  never  omitted. 

TIMOTHY   AND   OATS. 

Sometimes  I  cut  my  first  crop  of  timothy  in  part,  for  seed, 
but  rarely  more  than  needed  for  my  own  use.  My  average 
product  of  hay  (pure  hay,  and  clear  of  any  and  all  weeds,)  per 
acre,  is  two  tons,  but  I  have  raised  as  much  as  three  tons.  I 


FALLOW  LAND  —  BUILDINGS.  775 

only  raise  enough  oats  to  partly  feed  my  horses  on,  as  it  is  not 
a  profitable  crop  for  this  section  of  the  State.  It  is  much  more 
exhaustive  to  land  than  wheat  is,  but  it  comes  handy  some- 
times as  a  preparation  for  wheat  sowing. 

FALLOW  LAND. 

I  never  allow  ground  to  lie  in  fallow,  as  I  think  it  injurious 
on  account  of  our  Summer's  heat,  which  dries  out  the  land, 
and  prevents  the  seed  germinating,  often. 

By  this  simple  rotation  of  crops  I  keep  my  land  in  fine 
condition,  clear  of  weeds,  and  raise  large  crops,  without  re- 
ducing its  productiveness.  Above  all,  it  prevents  my  soil  from 
washing  away. 

BUILDINGS. 

All  my  buildings  are  on  the  northeast  forty  acres  of  my 
place,  in  Section  15,  Richland  Township,  on  the  highway  lead- 
ing from  Bloomfield  to  Worthington.  They  consist,  first,  of  a 
well  painted  and  rodded  two-story  frame  building,  24x36,  at- 
tached to  which,  on  the  northwest  side,  is  an  L,  a  one  and  a  half 
story  building,  24x14.  The  main  entrance  is  from  the  south, 
by  a  flight  of  cut  stone  steps,  under  a  portico  with  a  balcony 
above,  into  an  eight-foot  hall  with  two  rooms  on  each  side. 
This  story  is  nine  feet  nine  inches  in  the  clear,  while  the  upper 
story  is  nine  feet  three  inches  high.  Otherwise  it  is  like  the 
lower  story,  and  is  reached  by  a  stairway  from  the  lower  hall, 
under  which  is  the  entrance  to  the  cellar,  24x24,  whose  walls 
are  of  cut  stone,  under-drained  by  tiles,  and  divided  off  for 
dairy  and  house  use.  The  addition  of  24x14  is  used  as  a 
kitchen  below,  with  two  bed  rooms  above.  There  is  also  an 
outside  entrance  to  the  cellar.  Along  the  kitchen  and  north 
side  of  the  main  building,  I  have  a  porch,  with  a  cistern  in 
front  of  the  kitchen  door.  Another  cistern  lies  on  the  east  of 
the  main  building,  and  both  have  good  pumps.  My  cellar  is 
ventilated  by  three  screened  windows,  with  glass  sash  and  solid 
outside  shutters  for  Winter  use. 

SMOKE-HOUSE. 

Some  three  rods  northwest  of  the  kitchen  stands  a  frame 


776  GREENE  COUNTY,  INDIANA. 

smoke-house,  and  the  same  distance  in  a  northeasterly  direction 
is  a  frame  building,  24x14,  used  as  a  wood-house,  with  a  meal 
room  on  one  end.  A  supply  of  dry  wood  of  different  lengths  is 
kept  there  the  whole  year,  ready  when  needed.  The  house  is 
always  rilled  before  Spring  work  commences.  This,  as  well  as 
the  main  building  and  kitchen,  have  tin  gutters  under  the 
eaves,  and,  if  wanted,  the  rainfall  can  be  directed  to  either  of 
the  cisterns  mentioned. 

West  of  the  dwelling  I  have  a  grapery  and  an  orchard, 
containing  apples,  pears,  cherries,  peaches,  quinces,  etc.  On 
the  east  side  I  have  a  vegetable  garden,  with  small  fruits,  all 
fronting  the  highway,  and  divided  from  the  house  yard  by  sub- 
stantial palings.  East  of  my  wood-house  and  north  of  my  gar- 
den, is  the  wood  lot,  containing,  also,  the  chicken  house.  East 
from  this  is  the  barn  yard,  where  the  barn  and  hog  house  are 
located. 

BABN. 

My  barn  faces  south,  and  is  of  the  kind  known  as  a  bank 
barn.  The  ground  story  is  made  of  cut  stone,  and  is  33x72, 
about  nine  feet  high  in  the  clear,  and  is  divided  into  four  four- 
teen-foot stables,  with  eight-foot  feeding  rooms  between  each 
two  stables,  and  a  four-foot  passageway  on  the  north  side, 
which  enables  the  person  feeding,  when  once  in  the  building, 
to  reach  any  part  of  the  stable  below  or  the  mow  above,  with- 
out opening  an  outside  door.  My  two  east  stables  are  divided 
into  stalls  for  the  use  of  the  horses.  My  feed  room  between 
them  holds,  in  close  boxes,  oats,  corn,  and  measures,  attached 
to  the  feed  box  of  each  horse.  Here,  also,  the  hay  is  received 
from  the  mow,  and,  after  being  well  shaken,  is  placed  in  the 
racks,  which  are  almost  straight,  with  a  broad  bottom  board 
and  a  back  to  hold  the  hay  in  its  proper  place.  The  two  other 
stables  I  use  for  cattle.  Each  contains  a  rack,  lower,  but  simi- 
lar in  shape  to  those  in  the  horse  stables,  and  a  manger  along 
the  whole  length,  to  which  cattle  can  be  tied.  The  doors  to 
my  stables  and  feed  rooms  are  divided  in  two  parts ;  the  lower 
part,  for  about  four  and  a  half  feet  up,  are  solid,  while  the  up- 
per part  is  made  of  slats  for  ventilation.  The  upper  structure 


A  MODEL  BARN.  777 

is  a  frame  overreaching  the  stone  part  on  the  south  side  about 
seven  feet,  preventing  the  rain  from  reaching  the  stable 
entrances,  and  forming  a  covered  walk,  in  bad  weather,  when 
leading  horses  to  water. 

This  floor  is  40x72,  and  is  approached  on  the  north  side  by 
a  wagon  way.  It  is  divided  into  four  bends  of  eighteen  feet 
each,  and  is  eighteen  feet  high  in  posts.  The  two  center  bends 
have  each  a  double  door  eighteen  feet  wide  by  twelve  feet  high, 
where  the  teams  can  drive  on  the  upper  floor.  Doors  are  also 
placed  on  the  south  side  for  the  purpose  of  passing  the  straw- 
carrier  out,  when  threshing.  Along  the  south  side  of  the  west 
bend  is  the  granary,  18x12,  and  eight  feet  high,  divided  into 
bins,  with  a  passway,  under-door,  and  a  lock.  There  is  also 
an  outside  door,  to  load  grain  sacks  direct  into  the  wagon  from 
the  granary.  Arrangements  are  found  here  under  the  overshot 
to  hoist  beef  cattle,  when  butchering,  leaving  the  blood  and 
oft'al  on  the  dunghill. 

For  ventilation  of  the  upper  floor  I  have  seven  slatted 
windows  in  each  gable,  with  additionals  in  the  sides.  The 
east  bend  over  the  horses  is  always  filled  with  hay.  Grain 
is  in  the  west  bend,  and  also  next  to  hay,  so  the  thresher  can 
be  fed  from  both  sides.  The  straw  is  partly  returned  to  the 
barn,  the  balance  stacked  on  the  dunghill  before  the  barn, 
where  cattle  run  to  it,  and  from  whence  it  is  taken  for  bedding 
while  it  lasts. 

A  horse  hay-fork  is  in  each  end  of  the  barn,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  unloading.  Attached  to  the  barn  on  the  northeast 
side,  is  the  implement  room,  30x12,  where  plows,  cultivators, 
drill,  mower,  etc.,  are  always  stored  when  not  in  use.  On  the 
east  side  I  have  another  enclosed  shed,  52x12,  for  wagons, 
sulky,  spring-wagon,  etc.,  and  a  large  cistern,  with  pump,  in 
the  south  end,  where  the  rain  water  falling  on  the  barn  is  col- 
lected. I  have  a  long  watering  trough  under  the  overshot, 
next  to  the  horse  stable,  and  a  few  rods  east  from  this  is  a  never- 
failing  well  of  good  water.  In  front  of  the  barn  the  ground  is- 
removed.  Here  the  dung  from  the  stables  is  mixed  with  the 
refuse  of  the  straw  stack  not  used  for  bedding. 


778  LAKE  COUNTY,  INDIANA. 

CORN  CRIB. 

West  of  the  barn-yard,  facing  it,  with  gable  end,  stands  a 
frame  building  on  solid  stone  foundation  (like  all  buildings) 
thirty  by  forty,  twelve  feet  high,  with  six  foot  shed  on  south 
side.  This  building  contains  a  corn  crib  forty  by  four,  and  ten 
feet  high  on  north  side,  a  sixteen  feet  floored  passageway  in  the 
center,  with  large  double  doors  in  both  ends,  four  hog  pens 
ten  by  ten  on  the  south  side,  whose  partitions  can  be  removed 
if  needed  for  cattle  feeding.  In  such  a  case,  the  six  foot  shed 
comes  in  use  for  hogs  to  run  behind,  being  shut  out  from  where 
the  cattle  stand.  Above  this  feeding  place  a  tight  floor  forty 
by  ten  is  used  for  storing  corn.  Over  the  center  passage  corn 
or  hay  can  be  stored  at  pleasure,  if  needed  for  cattle  feeding. 
The  passage  way  is  used  for  mixing  slop  and  preparing  feed  ; 
also  for  wagons  and  other  purposes.  Here  I  have  also  a  cistern 
to  secure  the  water  collected  from  the  roof.  All  buildings, 
except  the  dwelling,  which  I  have  painted,  are  kept  white- 
washed, and  it  answers  well.  There  are  several  old  buildings 
on  different  parts  of  my  farm  that  can  be  used  as  shelter  for 
stock  in  bad  weather,  or  for  storing  any  thing  when  not  in  use. 


O.  DINWIDDIE, 

ORCHARD  GROVE,  LAKE  COUNTY. 

Sheep  Racks —  Cheap  Hog  Pen —  Open   Wells —  Windmill. 

SHEEP    RACKS. 

For  sheep  racks  I  use  six-inch  fencing,  sixteen  feet  long, 
and  two  by  four  scantling  of  the  same  length.  I  saw  the 
scantling  into  pieces  four  feet  long,  then  lay  two  pieces  on  the 
barn  floor,  three  feet  apart  at  one  end,  and  two  and  a  half  at 
the  other.  I  then  nail  pieces  of  boards  on,  about  six  inches 
apart,  letting  the  bottom  board  project  about  four  inches  at 
each  end.  I  nail  through  the  projecting  ends  into  short  pieces 
of  two  by  four,  set  edgewise  to  the  long  pieces.  Using  this  for 


SHEEP  RACKS  — CATTLE  RACKS. 


779 


a  pattern,  I  make  one  exactly  like  it,  and  one  for  the  middle  of 
rack,  with  only  two  boards  nailed  on.  Stand  these  frames  on 
the  narrow  end  and  nail  a  sixteen  foot  fence  board  on  the 
inside  of  all  three  frames,  about  twelve  inches  from  the  floor. 


Tnp  16  ft.  lontj 


Top  3ft. 


2ft.  6  in.  iruide 


I  nail  one  at  the  top  and  one  between,  then  nail  a  board  same 
length,  ten  inches  wide,  on  outside  of  short  pieces.  Now  nail 
up  the  other  side  of  rack  the  same  way,  and  I  have  a  sixteen 
foot  rack,  which  two  men  can  easily  carry  to  any  place. 

CATTLE   BACKS. 

I  make  racks  for  cattle  of  the  same  shape,  using  two  by 
four  scantling  eight  feet  long  for  the  frames.  For  the  mangers 
I  use  four  by  four,  two  feet  high,  letting  the  two  lower  boards 
on  each  end  extend  two  feet  each  side  of  the  main  frame, 
which  is  about  four  feet  wide  at  the  bottom,  and  five  at  the 
top.  On  the  outside  of  mangers,  I  bolt  two  by  four  scantling 
to  the  short  manger  posts.  Four  men  can  move  this  rack. 
Sheep  or  cattle  racks  may  be  made  twelve  or  fourteen  feet 
long  if  wanted. 

A    CHEAP   HOG   PEN. 

I  have  a  cheap  hog  pen  made  by  building  a  foundation  of 
ogs,  or  joists,  on  which  to  lay  a  floor  twenty-four  feet  wide, 
and  as  long  as  necessary  to  accommodate  the  hogs.  Toe-nail 
into  the  floor  two  by  four  scantling  four  feet  high  on  both  sides 
of  the  floor.  Spike  scantling  on  top  of  these  for  plates.  Two 
feet  each  side  of  the  center  set  up  a  row  of  scantling  about 
ten  feet  high,  supporting  purline  plates.  This  will  make  an 
alley  the  whole  length  four  feet  wide,  with  pens  on  each  side 
ten  feet  wide.  These  pens  may  be  partitioned  as  small  as 


780  LAKE   COUNTY,  INDIANA. 

necessary  by  making  small  doors  opening  from  the  alley  into 
each  pen.  The  rafters  should  be  spiked  or  pinned  together  at 
the  top.  If  covered  with  wild  hay,  ribs  of  light  poles  may  be 
nailed  across  the  rafters  close  enough  to  support  the  hay.  If 
covered  with  lumber,  only  four  ribs  on  each  side  will  be  neces- 
sary. For  cleaning  out  the  pens,  and  for  ventilation  in  Sum- 
mer, nail  the  lower  board  on  each  side  about  four  inches  from 
the  floor.  Then  nail  cleats  at  the  sides  of  each  pen,  so  that  a 
six-inch  board  may  be  dropped  in  to  keep  out  cold  in  Winter. 
The  partitions  may  be  movable,  so  as  to  change  the  size  of  tne 
pens  as  often  as  desired. 

WELLS. 

I  have  tried  open  wells  near  the  barn,  but  the  surface 
drainings  would  creep  in  and  taint  the  water  with  the  manure. 
I  do  not  want  stock  to  drink  water  that  I  will  not  use  myself. 
About  four  hundred  feet  from  my  barn  is  a  rise  of  about  four 
feet  in  the  land.  There  I  dug  a  well  and  put  up  a  tub-mill  for 
pumping  water.  Not  caring  to  pump  by  hand,  I  placed 
the  cylinder  in  the  water  (to  keep  it  always  primed),  then 
lengthened  out  the  rod  attached  to  the  valve  to  connect  with  the 
lever  of  the  windmill.  I  use  one  and  one-quarter  inch  gas- 
pipe  from  the  cylinder  to  about  six  feet  above  the  ground, 
through  which  the  pump  rod  runs. 

About  four  feet  above  ground  I  put  on  a  T  knuckle,  in 
which  I  screwed  a  horizontal  pipe  to  conduct  the  water  into 
my  reservoir  tank,  which  holds  about  thirty  barrels.  From 
this  tank  I  carry  the  water  to  my  barn  through  inch  pipe  (it 
should  be  larger)  laid  four  feet  under  ground.  At  the  point 
where  I  bring  the  water  to  the  surface,  I  attach  a  stop-cock  to 
the  horizontal  pipe,  with  a  lever  reaching  to  the  surface  of  the 
ground.  A  vent  hole  in  this  stop-cock  allows  the  water  to 
escape  from  an  upright  pipe  (into  a  box  sunk  there)  when 
shut  off  from  the  watering  trough.  The  upright  pipe  rises 
about  three  feet  above  the  surface,  and  with  an  elbow  on  top 
and  a  short  piece  of  pipe  fastened  therein,  the  water  can  be 
carried  to  several  pens  by  means  of  a  piece  of  wooden  spout. 
I  intend  to  either  dig  a  well  or  lay  tile  from  my  water  troughs 


A  WINDMILL.  781 

to  a  pond  near  by,  to  catch  the  waste  water  when  the 
troughs  run  over.  Then,  by  letting  a  small  stream  run  into  the 
horse  trough,  with  a  waste  pipe  into  the  cattle  trough, 
thence  into  the  sheep  trough,  and  on  into  the  hog  trough,  I 
will  have  plenty  of  water  for  all  the  stock,  without  running 
every  little  while  to  turn  it  on. 

A    WINDMILL. 

I  make  the  windmill  self-regulating  by  fixing  an  over- 
flow pipe  in  one  side  of  the  tank  to  conduct  the  water  into 
a  bucket  in  the  well,  when  the  tank  gets  full.  This  bucket 
is  hung  on  a  wire  attached  to  the  mill,  so  that  the  weight  of 
the  bucketful  of  water  closes  the  mill  and  prevents  pump- 
ing. A  small  gimlet-hole  in  the  bottom  of  the  bucket 
allows  the  water  to  run  out,  and  a  weight  on  another  wire 
opens  the  mill  for  pumping.  With  such  an  arrangement  in  the 
pastures,  it  need  not  be  looked  after  every  day,  and  stock  will 
be  much  healthier  than  when  drinking  from  muddy  ponds  or 
warm  creeks.  The  windmill  I  have  is  not  patented,  and  is  an 
upright  cylinder  attached  to  a  center  shaft,  which  is  connected 
by  a  pitman  to  the  pump-rod. 


PERCY  ROUSE, 

VEVAY,    SWITZERLAND    COUNTY. 

Sheep  Farm  —  Feeding   Racks  —  Plan  of  Feeding — Bees. 

A    SHEEP   FARM. 

My  farm  is  stocked  with  sheep.  The  hay  trade  in  this 
county,  at  one  time,  was  the  most  extensive  of  any  county  in 
the  Union,  and  I  have  turned  my  hay  barn  into  a  Winter  home 
for  sheep.  My  hay-mow  floor  is  below  the  floor  of  the  barn, 
about  seven  feet. 

Here  I  have  arranged  a  feed  rack  for  feeding  hay  and 
grain,  constructed  as  follows :  I  have  three  cleats  for  a  twelve 


782  SWITZERLAND  COUNTY,  INDIANA. 

foot  rack,  and  more  if  I  need  longer  ones.  These  are  three  by 
eight  inches,  and  twenty-four  inches  long ;  they  are  of  hard 
wood.  On  these  cleats  —  one  at  each  end  and  one  in  the  cen- 
ter, I  nail  a  board,  one  by  twenty-two  inches  and  twelve  feet 
long,  with  the  edges  beveled,  to  give  it  a  trough  shape  when 
the  sides  are  nailed  on.  On  the  sides  and  ends  of  this  board, 
I  nail  one  by  six-inch  plank,  with  the  upper  edge  on  side  plank 
rounded,  to  prevent  waste  of  wool  while  the  sheep  are  eating. 
This  forms  the  trough.  On  this  trough  I  build  a  rack  by  first 
striking  a  line  lengthwise  in  the  center  of  the  trough.  With 
an  inch  and  a  half  auger 'I  bore — standing  at  the  side  of  the 
trough — three  holes  close  to  but  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
chalk  line  from  where  I  stand,  through  board  and  cleat,  boring 
the  hole  to  the  right  of  the  center  of  the  cleat.  I  then  repeat 
with  the  auger  the  same  operation  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
trough.  While  boring  the  holes,  the  auger  must  be  so  held  as 
to  form  a  hopper  five  inches  wide  inside  at  the  bottom,  and  four 
feet  wide  at  the  top,  when  three  and  a  half  feet  high  from  the 
bottom  of  trough. 

For  standards  to  which  to  nail  the  lining,  take  two  by 
two  inch  straight  grained  oak  pieces  four  and  a  half  feet  longr 
properly  shaped  and  driven  in  the  auger  holes  in  suitable  form 
to  receive  on  the  inside  the  plank  composing  the  hopper.  This 
plank  should  be  three-quarters  of  an  inch  thick,  any  width, 
and  twelve  feet  long  for  a  twelve  foot  hopper,  and  planed  on 
the  inside  to  help  the  hay  slide  to  the  bottom,  so  that  the  sheep 
can  get  it.  I  plane  it  on  the  outside,  as  also  the  standards  and 
outside  corners,  which  I  take  off  so  as  to  prevent  a  loss  of  wool 
by  the  sheep  rubbing  against  rough  edges.  To  side  up  the  hop- 
per I  begin  at  the  bottom,  putting  the  plank  on  the  inside,  the 
lower  one  six  inches  above  the  bottom  of  the  trough.  The 
outside  corner  of  the  bottom  side  plank  must  be  nicely  rounded 
at  the  lower  edge,  to  save  the  tearing  of  wool,  as  above. 
Let  the  edges  of  the  siding  be  beveled,  and  lap  to  prevent  the 
grain  from  wasting  when  thrown  in  for  feeding.  The  ends  of 
the  trough  are  sealed  up  perpendicularly  against  the  end  of  the 
siding. 


SHEEP  HOPPERS  —  MANURE.  78$ 

I  set  these  sheep  hoppers  about  seven  feet  apart,  in  a  row, 
one  end  of  each  even  with  the  perpendicular  of  the  edge  of  the 
barn  floor  above.  I  have  suspended  walks,  or  platforms,  made 
of  thick  plank  three  feet  wide,  twelve  feet  high,  level  with 
the  barn  floor.  I  placed  midway  between  the  space  of  each 
pair  of  hoppers,  and  running  parallel  therewith,  to  walk  on 
while  feeding  hay.  Five  of  these  hoppers  twelve  feet  long> 
will  accommodate  one  hundred  head  of  sheep,  and  if  made  and 
arranged  as  above,  each  sheep  can  have  its  rations  of  corn 
before  its  nose  within  a  space  of  fifteen  seconds,  by  the  attend- 
ants throwing  with  force  a  quart  of  corn  in  each  hopper,  then 
leisurely  distributing  the  allotted  feed  in  each  apartment. 
Afterward  with  a  long-handled  pitchfork,  carefully  place  the 
hay  in  each  hopper,  to  be  eaten  by  the  sheep  at  their  pleasure. 

NO  WASTE. 

By  adopting  this  mode  of  feeding  sheep,  not  a  grain  of 
corn  nor  a  spear  of  hay  need  be  wasted.  These  sheep  hoppers 
should  be  raised  to  the  proper  hight  for  the  sheep  to  eat  from, 
by  setting  them  on  blocks,  two  feet  long,  under  each  cleat,  with 
a  good  supply  at  hand  of  extra  blocks,  to  be  used  to  raise 
them  as  litter  accumulates  in  bedding  the  sheep  with  straw 
from  time  to  time. 

MANURE. 

When  this,  the  best  of  domestic  manure,  is  to  be  removed, 
as  it  should  be  every  year,  the  hoppers  can  all  be  taken  to  one 
side,  giving  free  access  for  that  purpose.  Unquestionably, 
these  are  the  sheep  hoppers  to  feed  sheep  in.  They  cost  but  a 
trifle  each,  are  easily  made,  and  with  care  will  last  a  lifetime. 
I  claim  no  credit  for  orisrinatins:  the  above. 


I  am,  in  a  limited  sense,  engaged  in  bee  husbandry.  My 
mode  of  operation  is  as  follows  :  I  have  built  what  is  known  in 
this  section  of  the  county  as  a  "  Faulkner  Bee  House,"  on 
which  there  is  a  patent,  in  which  I  have  just  as  much  interest 
as  the  man  in  the  moon,  no  more,  no  less. 


784  SWITZERLAND  COUNTY,  INDIANA. 

My  house  is  nine  by  sixteen  feet,  eight  feet  story  in  the 
clear.  It  contains  twenty-eight  colonies  of  bees,  twelve  on 
each  side  and  four  in  the  end  opposite  the  door.  I  use  a  small 
heating  stove,  as  occasion  requires,  in  continued  cold  or  damp 
weather.  In  the  very  coldest  weather,  I  can  in  thirty  minutes 
raise  the  temperature  to  ninety  degrees,  thereby  causing  the 
bees  to  swarm  their  entire  quarters.  Or,  if  it  is  advisable 
I  let  them  fly  out  in  the  open  air.  These  are  comfortable 
quarters  for  the  bees,  convenient  and  quick  in  handling  them. 
A  home  for  every  thing,  and  every  thing  in  its  home,  with 
perfect  control  over  heat  and  cold,  and  total  exclusion  from 
the  corroding  effects  of  the  weather  on  the  bee  boxes,  are  the 
essentials  to  successful  bee  culture. 

COST    OF  BEE   HOUSE. 

My  house,  all  complete,  bees  excepted,  cost  me  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  dollars.  It  is  floored  and  sealed  with  dressed 
pine  flooring,  and  is  sided  or  weather-boarded  with  poplar 
weather-boarding.  It  has  a  shingle  roof,  is  painted  a  lead 
color,  with  two  gutters  to  carry  off  the  water.  Taking  into 
consideration  its  cost,  I  have  no  other  item  of  my  mixed 
farming  that  yields  so  good  a  dividend.  My  next  outbuilding 
to  be  erected  is  a  combined  honey  and  fruit  house,  to  be  built, 
as  regards  walls,  floor,  ventilation,  etc.,  after  the  order  of  my 
bee  house. 


MISSOURI. 


W.  J.  BOOTH, 

CENTRALIA,  BOONE  COUNTY. 

Stock  Farm —  Tenant  System — Pastures  and  Meadows — Sheep, 
Hogs,  Horses  and  Mules  —  Water  Float. 

My  farm  is  located  three  miles  southeast  of  Centralia,  a 
thriving  village  of  one  thousand  inhabitants,  through  which 
runs  the  Kansas  City  extension  of  the  Chicago  and  Alton  Rail- 
road, and  also  the  St.  Louis,  Kansas  City  and  Northern,  recently 
consolidated  into  the  Wabash,  St.  Louis  and  Pacific  Railroad. 

AN   IMPROVED   FARM. 

My  farm  is  improved,  and  arranged  for  a  stock  farm,  and 
grass  and  corn  are  the  main  crops  produced,  which  are  con- 
sumed on  the  farm,  and  go  to  market  in  the  form  of  live  stock 
or  its  product.  The  farm  contains  one  thousand  nine  hundred 
acres,  mostly  high,  rolling  prairie,  the  remainder  being  timber, 
growing  on  either  side  of  a  creek  which  runs  through  the 
center,  a  distance  of  a  mile  and  a  half.  The  timber  is  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  wide  on  an  average.  The  creek  affords  an 
abundant  supply  of  stock  water  for  this  portion  of  the  farm, 
while  the  timber  makes  excellent  protection  for  stock,  and 
furnishes  fuel  and  rails. 

WELL  FENCED. 

The  entire  tract  is  under  good  fencing,  which  is  equally 
divided  between  rail,  board  and  hedge. 

ARTIFICIAL   PONDS. 

My  farm  is  conveniently  divided  into  fields,  ranging  in 
size  from  a  calf  pasture  of  a  few  acres  up  to  a  four  hundred 
50  785 


786 


BOONE  COUNTY,  MISSOURI. 


acre  pasture  or  corn  field. 


top  of  the  basement  to  the  roof. 


Each  field  is  supplied  with  durable 
water,  either  from  the  creek 
mentioned,  or  from  artificial 
ponds,  which  are  fenced, 
and  the  water  conducted  to 
troughs  through  pipes  laid  in 
the  ground.  The  ponds  are 
located  so  that  the  water  in 
them  will  be  higher  than  the 
point  where  it  is  used,  con- 
sequently the  water  forces 
itself  through  the  pipes  to 
the  trough,  and  is  regulated 
by  means  of  float  and  valve. 
This  gives  a  constant  supply, 
but  allows  no  waste. 

They  operate  equally  as 
well  in  Winter  as  Summer, 
and  are  a  great  improvement 
over  the  old  way  of  allowing 
stock  to  run  in  the  pond, 
which  is  soon  filled  up  and 
made  filthy. 

BUILDINGS. 

My  buildings  are  con- 
structed with  a  view  to  shel- 
ter stock  and  give  storeroom 
for  hay  and  grain.  The  first 
to  be  mentioned  is  a  cattle 
and  sheep  barn,  built  on  the 
bank  or  basement  plan,  the 
main  building  being  forty  by 
fifty-two  feet,  with  basement 
ten  feet  high,  and  an  upper 
story  eighteen  feet  from  the 

Around  this  main  part  is 


GROUND  PLAN  OF  BARN. 


787 


9 


D 


767 


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9 


A — Horse  part  of  main  barn,  30  x  40  feet.  B — Wagon  and  carriage  stalls, 
20x30  feet.  C— Calf  and  sheep  shed,  20x30  feet,  D— Shed,  20x40  feet. 
1 — Single  stalls,  5  x  10  feet.  2 — Floor  between  stalls,  10  x  40  feet.  3 — Room 
for  meal  and  cutter,  10  x  10  feet.  4 — Harness  room,  6x7  feet.  5 — Water 
troughs.  6 — Hay  chutes,  extending  to  upper  story.  7 — Feed  boxes.  8 — Doors. 
9 — Windows. 


788  BOONE  COUNTY,  MISSOURI. 

joined  a  shed  twenty  feet  wide,  except  on  the  bank  side,  mak- 
ing a  basement  sixty  by  ninety-two  feet,  which  is  divided  into 
such  apartments  as  the  stock  require.  Water  is  supplied  by 
means  of  pipes  as  mentioned,  and  at  as  many  places  in  the 
building  as  may  be  required.  The  upper  story  is  reached  by  a 
driveway,  on  the  bank  side,  to  a  floor  which  extends  through 
the  center  of  the  upper  story,  on  either  side  of  which  is  a  mow 
for  storing  hay.  The  hay  is  handled  with  a  horsefork  and  car- 
rier, and  can  be  elevated  to  any  desired  hight.  My  grain  bins 
are  on  the  upper  floor,  and  the  grain  is  conducted  below  by 
means  of  spouts. 

The  next  building  is  the  horse  barn,  with  sheep  and  calf 
apartments  attached.  The  main  building  is  forty  by  sixty 
feet,  with  outside  posts  eighteen  feet  high,  which  give  ample 
loft  room  for  hay,  straw  and  sheaf  oats.  A  horse  fork  and 
carrier  is  used  to  fill  the  loft  with  hay.  There  are  twelve 
single  stalls,  each  five  feet  wide,  provided  with  large  feed  box 
and  access  to  hay  chute.  These  chutes  extend  from  the 
manger  to  the  upper  story,  where  they  are  filled  with  hay, 
which  runs  down  as  it  is  used  below.  One  supplies  two  stalls, 
and  it  is  the  most  convenient  and  economical  way  of  feeding 
hay  to  horses  I  have  yet  seen. 

This  apartment  I  have  provided  with  a  good  two-inch 
floor,  the  stall  floor  being  slightly  elevated  and  inclined,  so  as 
to  facilitate  drainage  and  cleaning.  The  accompanying  plan 
explains  the  ground  floor  of  the  whole  building. 

The  upper  part  of  A  is  a  hay  loft,  and  the  upper  part  of 
B  and  C  is  divided  into  workshop  and  storeroom  for  sheaf  oats, 
which  reach  No.  7  by  a  chute,  and  straw  for  bedding. 

As  no  provision  is  made  in  this  building  for  grain,  except 
sheaf  oats  and  ground  feed,  I  erected  a  granary  but  a  few  feet 
away,  which  is  rat  proof,  and  arranged  for  all  kinds  of  grain. 
It  is  twenty  by  thirty  feet,  with  ten  feet  outside  posts,  and  has 
a  tight  floor  of  yellow  pine.  The  entire  building  stands  on 
piers  three  feet  high,  thus  making  a  good  shelter  for  hogs  under 
the  building. 

My  farm  is  provided  with  several  cow  and  sheep  sheds  in 


STOCK  BARN.  789 

various  places,  to  accommodate  stock  as  they  may  require.  I 
also  have  a  mill  for  storing  and  preparing  feed  for  stock.  It  is 
twenty  by  thirty  feet,  with  eighteen  feet  outside  posts,  placed 
on  piers  three  feet  high,  which  gives  an  additional  room  for 
hogs.  On  one  end  is  a  shed  fourteen  by  twenty  feet,  in  which 
is  a  boiler  with  twelve-horse  power  engine,  which  furnishes 
power  for  shelling  corn,  grinding  and  cutting  feed  and  sawing 
wood,  as  well  as  the  steam  to  cook  feed  and  scald  hogs.  This 
room  is  supplied  with  water  by  means  of  pipes  from  an  artificial 
pond.  The  mill  is  furnished  with  one  large  corn  sheller,  which 
has  a  capacity  of  one  thousand  five  hundred  bushels  per  day, 
and  shells  either  husked  or  unhusked  corn.  It  has  also  one 
large  cutting  box,  suitable  for  cutting  all  kinds  of  feed,  but  is 
used  mostly  for  cutting  corn  in  the  ear  with  the  husks  on  it. 
Two  men  can  cut  one  thousand  bushels  of  ears  per  day,  which 
is  used  for  feeding  calves  and  sheep.  In  fact,  all  kinds  of 
stock  eat  it  with  very  little  waste,  as  it  is  cut  up  very  fine. 
As  the  feed  comes  from  the  cutter,  it  is  elevated  to  the  top  of 
the  building,  and  run  into  a  large  bin  sufficient  to  hold  all  that 
is  cut  in  one  day. 

A  pair  of  burrs  are  also  used  for  grinding,  with  a  capacity 
for  twenty-five  bushels  per  hour.  Elevators  are  used  for 
elevating  shelled  corn  and  meal  .to  the  bins  in  the  upper  story, 
where  they  can  be  drawn  out  through  spouts  as  required.  A 
circular  saw  is  also  run  by  the  same  power,  which  cuts  all  the 
wood  required  for  fuel  on  the  farm.  In  shelling  and  grinding 
corn,  the  cobs  more  than  supply  the  fuel  for  the  engine,  so  that 
but  little  wood  or  coal  is  required.  The  other  buildings  con- 
sist, in  part,  of  a  dwelling  house,  which  is  convenient  and  com- 
fortable, if  not  ornamental,  being  one  and  a  half  stories  high, 
with  ten  rooms  besides  kitchen  and  servants'  apartment.  There 
is  a  good  supply  of  out  buildings,  such  as  smoke  house,  hen 
house,  ice  house,  scale  house,  etc.  There  are  also  several  sets 
of  tenement  houses  and  stables,  for  families  who  cultivate  the 
land. 

MY   TENANT   SYSTEM. 

The  land  is  cultivated  by  tenants,  who  are  provided  with 


790  BOONE  COUNTY,  MISSOURI. 

comfortable  houses  and  conveniences  for  living,  and  who  have 
the  teams  and  tools  to  work  from  one  hundred  to  two  hundred 
acres  of  corn  to  the  family,  besides  a  few  acres  of  oats  and 
other  minor  crops;  but  corn  is  the  great  staple  crop  on  the 
farm. 

The  conveniences  for  living,  with  a  limited  amount  of 
pasturage  and  access  to  timber  for  fuel,  are  furnished  with  the 
land,  and  I  receive  two-fifths  of  all  the  crops  raised,  and  have 
them  delivered  on  any  part  of  the  farm  I  designate.  This  I 
prefer  to  cash  rent,  as  the  means  are  always  at  hand  to  pay  the 
rent,  and  it  is  more  profitable,  as  long  as  the  proprietor  has  the 
stock  and  facilities  for  consuming  the  grain  on  the  farm.  The 
tenants  have  no  claim  to  the  stalk  fields,  and  are  obliged  to 
have  the  corn  out  of  the  fields  by  the  first  of  January.  This 
obviates  any  conflicting  interests  that  might  arise  when  several 
parties  raise  corn  in  the  same  field,  and  gives  the  proprietor  a 
chance  to  feed  down  the  stalks  at  such  time  as  they  will  not 
be  injurious  to  the  land.  From  thirty-five  to  forty  acres  are 
raised  by  one  hand  and  team. 

CORN. 

The  plowing  is  done  by  three-horse  teams,  with  sixteen 
inch  plows,  after  which  it  is  harrowed  and  marked  off  one  way, 
and  then  planted  with  a  two-horse  planter,  operated  by  a  man 
and  boy,  at  the  rate  of  sixteen  to  twenty  acres  per  day.  I  cul- 
tivate the  corn  with  two-horse  walking  cultivators,  and  when 
young  I  often  harrow  and  roll,  especially  if  the  ground  be- 
comes very  dry.  Very  little  of  the  corn  is  either  cut  up  or 
husked.  Almost  the  entire  crop  is  gathered  from  the  standing 
stalk  with  the  husk  on  it,  when  it  is  stored  in  large  cribs. 

AMOUNT  OF  LAND   CULTIVATED. 

The  amount  of  land  under  cultivation  is  from  four  hun- 
dred to  six  hundred  acres,  and  the  revenue,  not  including  the 
stalk  fields,  ranges  from  three  to  five  dollars  per  acre,  accord- 
ing to  the  kind  of  crop  and  market  price  of  grain. 


MIXED  SEEDING  — STOCK.  791 

PASTURES  AND   MEADOWS. 

My  meadows  and  pasture  land  are  used  for  the  growing 
stock,  and  are  kept  under  my  immediate  control,  although, 
when  there  is  a  surplus  it  is  sold  by  pasturing  stock  by  the 
month.  This  I  much  prefer  to  leasing  pastures  or  meadows 
for  a  stated  time,  as  it  is  very  important  to  protect  the  grass 
at  times,  as  well  as  other  crops.  Pastures  that  are  wanted  for 
early  Spring  use  should  not  be  grazed  close  during  the  Fall  or 
Winter,  and  close  grazing  in  the  Spring  is  often  disastrous, 
especially  when  it  is  followed  by  a  dry,  hot  Summer. 

In  seeding  land  for  pasture  my  object  is  to  get  a  good  sod, 
and  this  can  only  be  done  by  sowing  a  mixture  of  seed.  I  re-' 
gard  clover,  timothy  and  blue  grass  as  best  adapted  for  this 
purpose  in  this  locality.  Where  the  hay  is  consumed  on  the 
farm,  this  mixture  will  make  a  good  clover  and  timothy  mea- 
dow for  a  few  years,  and  then  a  clear  blue  grass  pasture  will 
follow,  as  the  latter  will  run  out  all  other  grasses.  It  is  an 
advantage  to  mow  newly  seeded  land  two  or  three  years,  as  it 
kills  the  weeds  that  might  come  up.  I  would  suggest  the  ad- 
vantage of  keeping  a  field  of  wild  prairie  grass,  when  it  is  pos- 
sible. 

During  the  three  Summer  months  I  regard  this  grass 
second  to  none  for  grazing  purposes,  especially  in  a  dry  season, 
such  as  the  season  of  1879.  In  improving  my  farm  I  reserved 
two  hundred  and  forty  acres  of  prairie  grass  for  pasture,  and  I 
regard  it  as  one  of  the  most  valuable  fields  on  the  farm. 

STOCK. 

Cattle  is  the  most  important  item  of  live  stock  on  my  farm. 
I  keep  from  fifteen  to  twenty  high  grade  and  thorough-bred 
cows,  and  always  have  a  bull  of  good  pedigree,  consequently 
my  stock  is  kept  improving  in  quality  and  value.  I  have  never 
introduced  any  thing  but  the  Durham  blood  in  my  herd,  as  I 
regard  it  as  the  best  beef  producer,  which  is  my  ultimate  aim 
in  raising  cattle.  My  calves  are  allowed  all  the  milk,  except 
what  is  required  to  supply  the  family,  are  weaned  before  cold 
weather,  and  put  on  fresh  pasture  and  fed  cut  corn,  .meal,  oats 


792  BOONE  COUNTY,  MISSOURI. 

and  a  little  bran.  They  soon  learn  to  eat  dry  feed,  and  when 
Winter  sets  in,  are  fed  mostly  on  cut  corn,  and  having  good 
shelter,  are  in  a  shape  to  thrive. 

As  the  farm  will  graze  from  two  to  three  hundred  cattle, 
the  calves  raised  at  home  are  a  small  per  cent,  that  are  re- 
quired. Steers  I  buy  at  all  ages,  from  a  calf  to  a  three  year 
old,  as  opportunity  and  amount  of  feed  require.  The  steers 
are  full  corn  fed  the  Winter  after  they  are  three  years  old,  and 
are  marketed  in  the  Spring  or  Summer  following.  I  feed  cut 
corn  in  large  troughs,  the  fore  part  of  the  Winter,  and  as 
Spring  approaches  the  corn  is  shelled  and  ground,  so  that  by 
the  middle  of  April  they  are  entirely  fed  on  ground  feed.  The 
change  in  their  feed  must  be  made  gradually,  and  should  be 
accomplished  before  the  cattle  are  put  on  pasture  in  the  Spring. 

My  steers,  grown  and  fed  in  this  way,  average,  when  sold, 
from  seventeen  hundred  and  fifty  to  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty 
pounds,  and  are  usually  sold,  weighed  and  delivered  on  the 
farm,  as  is  the  case  with  all  kinds  of  stock  products.  I  have 
learned,  from  fifteen  years'  experience,  that  home  prices  and 
weights  are  preferable  to  shipping,  and  much  more  satisfactory 
in  every  way. 

HOGS. 

Hogs  are  raised  and  fed  in  connection  with  cattle  feeding, 
and  are  an  important  item  on  a  stock  farm.  When  properly 
managed  they  afford  about  the  best  market  for  corn  that  the 
Western  producer  can  find.  My  stock  is  mostly  of  the  Berk- 
shire breed,  which  I  regard  the  best  distinct  breed  there  is  for 
all  purposes,  although  some  of  my  best  results  have  been  a 
cross  of  the  Chester  White  and  Poland  China  with  the  Berk- 
shire. This  makes  a  very  desirable  feeding  hog,  but  I  prefer  to 
keep  the  breeders  of  pure  blood,  no  matter  what  stock  or  breed 
I  select.  I  have  one  hundred  and  fifty  hogs  on  the  farm,  which 
are  allowed  to  mature  at  about  sixteen  months  old,  when  they 
average  three  hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds.  Corn  ground 
and  cooked  is  a  great  advantage  in  the  Winter  for  young  shoats 
and  brood  sows  with  young  pigs,  but  for  Spring  and  Summer 
feeding,  the  meal  should  be  soaked  instead  of  cooked.  My 


CARE  OF  SHEEP.  79g 

experience  is,  that  a  good  hog  will  produce,  by  proper  shelter 
and  care,  ten  pounds  of  pork  for  one  bushel  of  corn,  and  will 
produce  twelve  pounds  for  the  same  amount  of  grain  ground 
and  soaked  or  cooked. 

SHEEP. 

Sheep  are  an  important  item,  and  no  farm  in  this  section 
of  country  should  be  without  a  well  bred  and  properly  cared 
for  flock.  It  is  idle  to  suppose  that  sheep  require  no  attention 
and  but  little  feed,  for  there  is  nothing  on  the  farm  that  will 
pay  better  for  a  little  extra  feed  and  shelter  than  a  flock  of 
sheep.  They  yield  a  double  income — wool  and  increase — either 
of  which  will  repay  proper  care  and  management.  My  flock 
are  mostly  Cotswolds,  with  a  few  South  Downs,  all  imported 
stock.  The  Cotswold  is  the  most  popular  breed  in  this  region, 
as  it  is  a  good  wool  and  mutton  producer,  both  of  which  com- 
mand high  prices. 

The  South  Down  is  a  much  more  hardy  sheep,  adapted  to 
larger  flocks,  and  is  second  to  none  for  mutton  qualities,  but  is 
not  so  heavy  a  wool  producer.  A  cross  of  the  two  breeds 
makes  a  very  desirable  sheep,  and  I  am  at  present  experiment- 
ing in  that  direction. 

My  ewes  are  bred  in  September,  and  most  of  the  lambs 
come  in  February.  I  do  not  experience  any  trouble  in  saving 
my  lambs,  as  good  close  sheds  are  provided,  and  a  piece  of  blue 
grass  or  rye  is  saved  for  them  for  early  Spring  use.  The  ewes 
I  feed  hay,  sheaf  oats  and  corn,  up  to  the  time  of  lambing, 
when  bran  is  preferable  for  producing  milk.  The  early  lambs 
are  often  very  much  constipated  for  a  few  days  after  they 
come,  which  can  be  corrected  by  the  use  of  a  syringe  and  fresh 
milk  with  a  little  molasses. 

This  is  a  mild  remedy  and  almost  always  effectual.  The 
lambs  I  have  weaned  in  the  month  of  August,  and  a  little  extra 
feed  is  given  them,  so  that  by  Winter  they  will  thrive  on  dry 
feed.  The  ewes  are  bred  to  have  lambs  when  two  years  old. 
I  do  not  think  it  profitable  to  breed  them  younger  than  this. 
I  have  had  considerable  experience  with  Merino  sheep,  and 
find  them  superior  to  all  others  where  large  flocks  are  herded 


794  BOONE  COUNTY,  MISSOURI. 

and  a  limited  range  is  a  necessity.  Our  high,  rolling  prairies 
in  these  parts  are  well  adapted  for  sheep  raising,  and  are  being 
utilized  for  this  purpose  as  their  advantages  are  better  apprecia- 
ted. 

OTHER  STOCK. 

Horses  and  mules  are  raised  on  the  farm  to  supply  the 
teams,  and  a  small  surplus  is  disposed  of  every  year,  as  it  is 
better  to  have  an  animal  to  sell  than  one  to  buy.  A  few  su- 
perior breeds  of  poultry,  and  a  good  supply  of  bees  fill  up  the 
list,  each  one  of  which  is  successful  in  proportion  to  the  time 
and  attention  given  it. 

In  selecting  a  farm  for  an  investment  or  a  home,  there  are 
many  things  to  be  taken  into  consideration.  After  choosing 
the  kind  of  farming  to  be  pursued,  whether  grain  or  stock,  a 
location  must  be  selected  suited  to  that  choice.  This  part  of 
the  country  is  peculiarly  'adapted  to  stock  growing  in  all  its 
branches,  as  the  land  is  dry  and  rolling,  with  ample  facilities 
for  obtaining  water,  while  the  soil  can  not  be  excelled  for  pro- 
ducing all  kinds  of  grasses  and  coarse  grain.  Wheat  has  not, 
until  recently,  attracted  much  attention,  but  the  crop  is  coming 
into  better  favor,  and  many  farmers  are  growing  it  quite  ex- 
tensively. Our  market  is  good,  having  competing  railroads  to 
St.  Louis  and  Chicago,  which  insures  cheap  and  quick  trans- 
portation ;  and  with  the  present  strong  upward  tendency  of 
real  estate,  our  cheap  and  desirable  land  must  soon  become 
valuable. 


MICHIGAN. 


B.  F.  PARTRIDGE, 

BAY     CITY,     BAY     COUNTY. 

Buildings  —  Cultivation  —  Barley  —  Oats — Potatoes — Fruit  — 
Soil  and  Timber  —  Stock —  Water. 

OAK  RIDGE  FAEM. 

My  house  stands  back  from  the  Bay  City  and  Wattrons- 
ville  plank  road  about  fifteen  rods.  A  lane  leads  from  the 
plank  road  back  twenty  rods,  and  then  south  and  parallel  with 
the  plank  road  about  fifty  rods,  and  again  back  to  the  road, 
passing  in  the  rear  of  the  house,  and  between  the  house  and 
barns,  and  other  buildings,  with  the  pear  orchard  in  the  field 
around  the  house,  and  other  fruits  adjoining.  My  apple 
orchard  of  eleven  hundred  trees  is  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
plank  road. 

My  barns  are  situated  more  than  one  hundred  feet  apart, 
and  the  same  distance  from  the  house. 

My  water  is  carried  from  the  windmill  to  the  stables  and 
yards  in  wooden  water  pipes. 

WHEAT. 

My  mode  of  cultivation  is  to  plant  wheat  every  year,  in 
more  or  less  quantity.  Some  fields  I  drill  in,  while  others  I 
pulverize  the  ground  with  the  Rand  pulverizer,  which  buries 
the  seed  about  right.  Other  wheat  I  drag  in,  but  I  prefer 
drilling  and  pulverizing,  rather  than  dragging,  as  the  seed  is 
all  covered,  and  will  not  freeze  out  as  readily  as  when  it  is 
but  partly  covered. 

I  have  never  yet  Summer  fallowed  my  wheat  land,  but 
have  sowed  after  peas,  barley  and  oats,  and  have  raised  from 


796  BAY  COUNTY,  MICHIGAN. 

twenty  to  forty-three  bushels  to  the  acre.  I  have  only  once 
manured  the  land,  and  only  a  small  piece  then,  before  putting 
in  the  seed.  I  take  the  second  crop  of  wheat  off,  seeding  with 
timothy  grass  at  the  last  wheat  sowing,  and  I  let  this  field  re- 
main in  grass  three  or  four  years,  then  plow  up  in  the  Fall  and 
put  oats  on  in  the  Spring  as  early  as  the  frost  will  permit,  even 
while  the  top  only  is  thawed  out.  After  the  oats  are  off,  1 
plow  again,  and  the  next  Spring  I  put  in  barley.  Sometimes 
I  have  put  in  wheat  as  soon  after  the  oats  as  I  could  plow  and 
sow,  which  is  about  the  first  week  in  September  in  this  latitude, 
though  I  have  had  good  wheat  which  was  sown  the  last  of 
September.  After  my  barley,  I  plow  and  drill  in  about  one 
and  three-quarter  bushels  to  the  acre  of  wheat  the  first  week 
in  September,  and  this  land  will  then  give  from  thirty  to  forty- 
bushels  of  the  best  wheat  to  the  acre.  I  have  raised  eighty- 
five  bushels  of  oats,  and  fifty-two  bushels  of  clean  white  barley 
to  the  acre.  Barley  must  be  sown  as  you  [do  oats,  as  soon  as 
you  can  get  on  to  the  land. 

POTATOES. 

I  have  raised  from  ten  to  twenty  acres  of  potatoes  a  year. 
I  think  the  best  way  to  raise  potatoes  is  to  turn  over  the  pas- 
ture sod  late  in  the  Fall,  and  then  put  on  the  pulverizer  early. 
When  the  weather  is  dry  and  warm,  I  mark  off  the  rows  three 
and  a  half  feet  apart,  and  put  in  my  seed  at  ten  inches  apart  in 
the  rows.  I  cover  the  seed  with  the  plow,  putting  on  the 
roller  and  flattening  down  the  ridges.  When  the  plants  have 
appeared  two  or  three  inches  above  the  ground,  I  put  on 
a  small,  light,  diamond-shaped,  double  drag,  shaped  thus : 
<> —  This  is  drawn  by  one  horse  by  driving  between 

—  the  rows.  I  run  over  them  about  twice  before 
they  are  ready  to  cultivate.  Then  I  run  the  cultivator  be- 
tween the  rows,  till  the  soil  is  well  loosened  up.  After  a  few 
days  more  I  bring  the  shovel  plow  between  the  rows,  throwing 
the  earth  on  either  side  against  the  rows,  and  then  finish  up 
with  the  hoe,  to  straighten  up  and  fix  the  plants.  My  work  is 
now  completed  till  I  dig  them,  when  I  plow  them  out  and  pick 


FRUIT  CULTURE.  797 

up,  and  then  drag  and  pick  up  again,  and  I  find  that  about  all 
of  them  are  saved. 

FRUIT   CULTURE. 

Fruit  culture  has  been  a  part  of  the  business  on  my  farm, 
though  my  orchard  has  just  commenced  to  bear.  I  have  small 
fruits  only  for  family  use,  but  have  in  cultivation  a  large 
variety  of  the  gooseberry  and  currant,  and  the  red  and  black 
raspberry  and  blackberry  and  black  currants  Grapes  I  also  have, 
and  some  strawberries.  My  tree  fruits  consist  of  one  thousand 
one  hundred  apple  trees  of  the  best  sorts  in  proportionate 
varieties  for  season,  market,  and  table  uses. 

PEARS. 

My  pears  consist  of  some  fifteen  of  the  best  varieties  for 
the  table,  the  season,  and  for  market.  They  number  five  hun- 
dred trees,  and  are  nearly  all  standards.  I  have  about  one 
hundred  plum  trees  of  the  best  varieties  for  use  and  market, 
and  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  quince  trees,  of  the  orange 
variety,  several  crab  apples,  and  a  few  cherry  trees.  The 
seasons,  or  soil,  or  some  other  cause  renders  the  growing  of 
the  peach  very  risky,  and  I  have  abandoned  its  cultivation. 

TREATMENT  OF  FRUIT  TREES. 

I  plant  my  fruit  trees  on  the  best  and  dryest  land  I  have, 
and  make  the  land  as  rich  and  pliable  as  possible  before  plant- 
ing. Then  I  measure  off  the  ground  I  design  fco  plant  to  trees, 
say  for  the  apple,  thirty  feet  apart  each  way.  To  save  time 
and  expense  I  plow  late  in  the  Fall,  so  that  the  dead  furrow 
will  come  exactly  where  I  want  my  row  of  trees.  I  then  draw 
my  old,  rotten,  barnyard  manure,  and  place  a  pile  just  where 
my  tree  is  to  stand  (after  making  the  place  for  the  tree).  I 
now  throw  the  top  dirt  in  one  pile,  and  the  subsoil  in  another, 
so  I  can  use  the  rich  top  soil  around  the  tree  in  the  Spring. 
I  then  scatter  the  dead  furrow  full  of  the  same  kind  of  manure, 
and  let  this  matter  stand  till  Spring,  when  the  weather  is 
warm  and  dry,  and  my  time  has  come  to  plant  the  trees.  I 
purchase  direct  from  responsible  nurserymen,  ordering  my 
trees  in  February  or  March.  They  will  be  on  hand  in  time  to 


798  BAY  COUNTY,  MICHIGAN. 

plant  when  the  right  time  comes.  When  my  orchard  ground 
is  ready,  as  soon  as  possible,  I  open  my  boxes  and  sort  and 
place  the  trees  in  a  trench  already  prepared,  cover  the  roots, 
and  wet  them  thoroughly.  I  now  make  a  hole  in  the  ground 
about  the  size  of  a  barrel,  fill  it  with  water,  and  mix  a  batter 
of  the  clay  subsoil.  When  I  have  properly  trimmed  my  trees 
of  broken  limbs  and  roots,  I  dip  them  into  this  batter  and  plant 
as  soon  as  I  can,  putting  the  rich  earth  from  the  top  earth 
pile  around  the  roots  nicely  and  firmly,  and  making  the  ground 
hard  all  around  the  tree.  My  work  is  now  done,  though 
I  am  careful  to  set  the  tree  a  little  lower  in  the  ground  than 
it  was  in  the  nursery. 

I  plant  corn  in  my  orchard,  and  give  it  and  the  trees  good 
cultivation  through  the  year.  I  remove  the  corn  and  stalks, 
and  plow  up  to  the  trees  late  in  the  Fall,  leaving  the  dead 
furrow  equi-distant  from  the  rows  of  trees.  Then  I  put  down 
an  under  drain  in  my  dead  furrow,  after  making  it  deeper, 
— a  saving  of  much  labor  and  expense  in  digging.  My  land 
is  now  ready  for  corn  the  next  year.  This  corn  serves  to  shade 
the  bodies  of  the  trees  from  the  scorching  rays  of  the  sun,  and 
the  wind  during  the  first  two  years.  After  I  have  finished 
planting  the  trees,  I  take  a  pail  of  soft  soap  and  a  brush  and 
paint  the  trees  from  the  ground  up  into  the  limbs,  and  do  this 
again  in  July.  By  this  means  I  destroy  any  borers  or  their  eggs. 
This  same  practice  applies  successfully  to  all  trees  except  ever- 
greens, and  perhaps  it  would  benefit  them,  though  I  have  never 
tried  it.  Maple,  and  all  other  shade  and  ornamental  trees,  I 
have  treated  in  this  fashion,  and  I  have  had  clean  limbs  and 
green  bark  on  all  my  trees,  and  they  have  got  the  start  of  the 
borers  every  time.  It  is  my  opinion  that  there  is  something 
in  the  soap  that  supplies  a  lack  in  the  soil,  for  a  few  years  at 
least,  till  the  roots  have  reached  far  enough  from  the  tree  to 
find  what  it  needs. 

SOIL  AND   TIMBER. 

My  farm  was  very  heavy  timbered  with  oak,  beech,  maple, 
elm,  basswood,  soft  maple  and  black  ash.  One  part  was 


SOIL  — STOCK— HOGS.  799 

scarcely  higher  than  another.  My  soil  is  a  rich,  black  soil, 
with  clay  subsoil  In  some  places  a  clay  loam  is  the  surface 
soil.  The  swales  had  a  little  deeper  soil  than  the  oak  ridges, 
and  all  the  land  had  to  be  drained  by  either  under  or  open 
drains.  My  open  drains  are  made  by  plow  and  scraper,  into 
what  we  call  call  scoop  ditches,  and  are  so  constructed  that  I 
plow  across  them  at  any  angle,  letting  the  plow  run  out  at  the 
ditch  and  setting  in  again  on  the  other  side,  which  leads  all  the 
dead  furrows  into  the  ditches.  I  can  scarcely  find  any  water 
on  my  farm,  outside  of  these  ditches. 

The  market  here  is  good,  and  the  farmer  receives  the  high- 
est price  for  his  produce.  Any  man  here  can,  with  usual 
energy  and  forethought,  make  him  a  farm  that 'will  retain  the 
native  richness  of  the  soil  for  any  length  of  time.  No  lazy 
man  need  come  here  expecting  to  get  his  timber  cut  and  his 
land  cleared,  and  make  him  a  farm,  without  labor  on  his  part, 
or  money  enough  to  pay  for  it.  But  in  case  he  does  make  a 
farm,  its  value  is  beyond  that  of  farms  in  any  locality  I  am 
acquainted  with.  The  climate  is  quite  as  desirable  as  in  any 

temperate  latitude. 

STOCK. 

I  do  not  raise  fancy  stock  yet.  I  have,  however,  good 
grade  cows,  and  good  blooded  horses.  Mine  are  all  roadsters, 
of  the  best  kind. 

HOGS. 

I  raise  pure  Berkshire,  and  think  them  the  best. 
FOWLS. 

I  raise  a  few  chickens  of  the  Buff  Cochin  and  Partridge 
Cochin,  crossed,  which  make  nice  large  fowls  and  they  lay 
large  eggs  and  more  of  them  than  most  other  kinds.  My 
turkeys  are  the  common  kind,  as  are  my  geese  and  ducks.  I 
only  keep  for  my  own  use. 


I  ND 


EX. 


APRICOTS — 625. 
APPLES — 136,  148. 

Crate  Boxes — 672. 

Causes  of  Low  Prices — 671 

Fruit  House  for — 674. 

How  to  Keep — 673. 

How  to  Handle — 671,  706. 

Marketing — 672. 

Sorting — 673. 

Varieties  to  Plant — 679. 
ARTICHOKES — 247,  389,  436,  525. 

BARNS — 42,  90,  220,  252,  273,  307,  328, 
344,  425,  532,  538,  558,  580,  636, 
670,  712,  719,  729,  764,  776,  777, 
788. 

Frames — 238. 
Stud— 345. 

Cow — 142,  253,  702,  769,  771. 
BARLEY. 

Harvesting — 151,  407. 
BEANS — 131. 

Castor — 415,  416. 
Castor,  yield — 417. 
BEES — 61,  122,  147,  153,  258,  390,  564, 

648,  758. 
Hives— 758,  783. 
Honey — 760. 
BROOM  CORN — 411. 
Cultivation — 417. 
Scraper — 418. 
Cutting — 418. 

BUILDINGS— 37,    46,     59,    82,97,    123, 
236,  260,  261,  279,  291,  326,  368, 
427,  461,  558,  575,  583,  591,  621, 
701. 
BUGS. 

Remedy  For — 209. 


BULLS. 

(See  Cattle.) 

CABBAGE — 536. 
CALVES. 

(See  Cattle.) 
CANE. 

Amber — 392. 

Early  Golden— 568. 
CHERRIES — 184,  295,  423,  467. 
CLIMATE. 

(See  Soil  and) 

CLOVER— 25,  40,  195,  234,  292,  343,  451, 
537,  700. 

Enemies  of — 12. 

Fertilizer,  as  a — 12,  473. 

Profit  in — 452. 

Seed — 13. 

Sowing — 13. 

Time  to  Cut— 28. 
CLOD  CRUSHER — 364,  317. 
Cows  AND  CALVES. 

(See  Cattle.) 
CORN. 

Cribs — 37,  59,  221,  252,  504,  526,  778. 

Cost  of  raising — 145,  151,  166,  198, 
218,  286,  333,  429,  441,  453,  473, 
476,  502,  520,  532. 

Cultivation  of — 60,  90,  93,  130,  135, 
168,  179,  187,  224,  255,  287,  318, 
325,  333.  338.  364.  389.  4",  425, 
567,  597,  598-  6lo>  6l5,  774,  79°- 

Husks — 526. 

Seed — 166,   224. 

Shallow  plowing — 256. 

Stalks— 168. 

Sweet — 700. 

Yellow — 500. 


802 


INDEX. 


CORN —  Continued. 

Yield  of — 85,  140,  179,  190,  218, 
CROPS. 
First — 304. 

Reasons  for  never  losing — 285. 
Rotation  of — 30,  48,  65,  75,  84,  118, 
178,  201,  222,  313,  357,  472,  492, 
499,  517,  519.  651,  688,  710,  714, 
724,  744,   767. 
CRIBS. 

(See  Corn.) 
CORRALS,  stock — 381. 
Sod— 371. 

COLD  FRAMES — 205. 
CATTLE — 264,  454,  503,  489,  536. 
Breeds,  best  for  small  farms — 521. 
Devons — 742. 
Devons  crossed  with  natives   135, 

152. 

Herefords — 6,  280,  441. 
Jerseys — 76,  153,  211,  550. 
Short-Horns — 24,    28,  31,    36,   43, 
46,  86,  120,  147,  154,  180,  251, 
270,   283,    326,    404,   420,    444, 
477,    533,    556,   620,    711,    725, 
756,  79i- 
Breeding — 6. 
Breeding  heifers — 9. 
Branding — 382. 
Black  leg — 131. 
Blooded  stock — 434. 
Calves,  raising  of — 197,  271,  316,  358, 

441,  569. 
Weaning — 8. 

Cows,  Sold  on  warranty — 28. 
Best  for  milk — 61. 
Care  and  feeding — 194,  196,  211, 
211,  212,  243,  271,  292,  315,  543, 
576,  701,  720. 
Graded — 369. 
Points  of  good — 577. 
Profit  of — 133. 
Stanchions  for — 163. 
Fattening — 503,518. 
Feeding — 429.  495  503. 


CATTLE — Continued. 

Management  of — 48,  51,  64,  80,  131, 
201,  219,  263,  265,  270,  276,  330, 
390,  392,  407,  409,  412,  429,  485, 
56o,  573,  584,  601,  606,  611,  718, 
722.  756. 

Racks  for — 52,  328. 
Self  Feeder  for — 525. 
Sheds  for — 51. 
Stockers — 93,  283. 
CUCUMBERS — 203. 
CURRANTS — 468,  547, 

DAIRY — 17,  414,  564,  686. 
Barn — 196. 
Butter — 148,  214,  234,  315,  358,  368, 

543- 

Cellar — 369, 
Churn — 214,  238. 
Churning — 214. 
Creamery,  plans  of — 322. 
Marketing — 198. 
Milk  and  Butter,  yield  of — 86,  577. 

720. 

Milk  Room — 214. 
Pans  and  Vats — 212. 
Skimming — 214. 
DIRT  FLOORS — 239. 
DRAINAGE — 37,  40,  181,  216,  220,  2:6 

463,  498,  516,  533,  629,  677,  723, 

732,  766. 
Benefits  of — 227. 
Board  Draining — 216. 
Cheap  Way  to  Dig  For — 141. 
Cost  of  in  Iowa — 463. 
Cost  of  per  Acre — 740. 
Covering  Tile — 70. 
Cut-off  For  Drains — 735. 
Deep  Drains — 733. 
Depth  of— 33,  733,  737. 
Distance  Apart  of — 732. 
Expense  of  Laying — 32,  182. 
Flat  Lands,  benefit  to — 150. 
Grade,  How  to  in  Laying  Tile — 734, 

736. 

Lateral  Drains — 735. 
Laying  Tile,  Manner  of — 69,  129,  735. 


INDEX. 


803 


DRAINAGE — Continued. 

Obstructions  in  Drain — 740. 

Open  Ditches — 16,  95  169. 

Outlets  for  drains — 67,  733. 

Pole  Ditches — 49. 

Profit  of— 72. 

Round  Tile — 70. 

Results  of  in  Illinois — 53,  58. 

Road  Drains — 128. 

Size  of  Tile— 69,  170,  736. 

Solid  and  Porous  Tile — 739. 

Velocity  of  Water  in— 733,  739- 

Wells— 71. 

FARM. 

Accounts — 698,  721. 
Systematic — 690. 
Construction  of  House  for — 656. 
Cost  of  Products — 243. 
Division   and   Crops  of — 24,  27,  30, 

349- 

Energy  in  work  of — 691. 
Experiments  on — 338,  730. 
Implements — 102,  151,  223,  231,  277, 

351,  428,  476,  499,   502,   520,   555, 

565,  579.  595,  72i,  761- 
Income  of— 88,  352,  373,  570. 
Labor  on — 44,  219,  343,  691. 
Main  Idea  of — 139. 
Making  it  pay  on — 89. 
Management  of — 687. 
Methods — 240,   307,   352,   357,    374, 

488,  541,  549,  555,   574,  699.   7T7, 

766,  789. 

Naming,  Reasons  for — 63. 
Practical  Results— 88,  429. 
Receipts — 87,  702. 
Scales — 53. 

Success,  secrets  of — 89. 
Small — 713. 
System — 692. 

Yield,  How  to  Ascertain — 768. 
FERTILIZERS — 13,  419,  439,  456,  516, 

520,  663,711,  783. 
•FISH— 94,  156. 
Ponds — 45. 
Cultivation  of— 103. 


FLAX— 257,  474. 

Straw — 411. 
FEEDING. 

Cribs  for — 405,  444. 

High — 121. 

Lots  for — 79,  374,  404,  518,  560. 

Movable  Feeder — 36,  405,  525. 

Racks — 52,  328. 

Secret  in — 85. 

Sheds — 51. 

FENCES — 217,  272,  307,    310,  327,  349, 
440,  443.  457,  702,  712. 

Virginia — 45. 

Osage — 66,  83. 
FORESTRY. 

Artificial  Groves — 459,  584. 

Black  Walnuts — 440. 

Cotton  Woods — 440,  459. 

Cultivation — 56,  459. 

Cutting  and  Clearing — 661,  663. 

Culture  in  Nebraska — 585,  592,  604, 
643,  633,  636. 

Evergreens — 433. 

Groves— 356,  458,  571. 

Growth — 296. 

How  to  Plant— 747. 

Kinds  to  Plant— 145,  185. 

Pines— 433. 

Protection — 458. 

Timber  Act,  Nebraska— 585. 

Timber  Act,  Changes  in — 587. 

Timber,  Mistakes  in  Planting — 586. 

Trees— 114,  432- 

Trees  for  Western  States — 748. 

Trees,  from  Seeds — 747. 

Trees,  Value  to  the  Farm — 746. 
FRUIT. 

Cultivation   of— 136,   362,   391,    557, 
564,  579,    584,   588,  606,  612,  630, 

633,  704,  763,  797- 
Experience  with — 351. 
House  for — 674. 
Location  and  Soil  for — 677. 
Marketing — 627. 
Small  Fruit— 191,  423,  546,  547,  594, 

605,  626,  681. 


804 


INDEX. 


GATES— 218. 

Switch — 162. 
GARDENS — 186,  391,  547,  548,  630. 

Landscape — 431, 

IIo:  Beds— 206. 
GRAIN — 419,  440,  574,  610,  646. 

Cost   of  Raising — 32.    44,    102,    135, 
250,  288,  477. 

Cultivation  of — 135,  146,  199,  493. 

Drilling — 170. 

Reasons  of  Failure  of — 225 

Yield  of— 493. 
GRAPES — 185,  295.  411,  545,  594,  625. 

Concord — 94. 

Planting — 546. 

Vineyard— 57,  109,  110,423,468,469, 

605. 
GRASS. 

Base  of  Farming — 494. 

Time  to  Cut — 32,  186,   195,  266,  4,15. 
GROUTING— loo. 

HAY— 186. 
Making — 508. 
Oven — 589. 
Profit  in — 763. 
Rack — 413. 
Rake — 510. 
Shed — 23. 
Stacker — 508. 
Sweep — 267. 

Time  to  Cut — 32,  195,  266,  495. 
HEDGES. 

Gray  Willow — 119,  2O2. 

How  to  Plant — 202. 

Time  to  Plant — 202. 
Osage— 307,  310,  368,  421,  424,  432, 

458,  484,  608. 

When  to  trim — 84. 
HOGS. 

Berkshire — 24,  47.  60,   81,  154,   268, 

280,  288,  289,  320,  339,  442,  504, 

543,  549,  712. 
Breeding  of — 233,  483. 
Breeding  stock — 446. 
Chester  White  and  Suffolk— 564. 


HOGS —  Continued. 

Cooked  feed  for — 126,  617. 

Combined  house  for — 259. 

Co-operation  in  raising — 41. 

Cost  of  raising — 93. 

Diseases,  Remedies  for — 39,  76,  155, 
229,  267,  600. 

Early  Pigs — 228,  446. 

Essex — 136. 

Fall  feeding — 126. 

Farrowing — 156. 

Fattening — .  oo,  733. 

Feed  for  Young  Pigs — 229,  447. 

Health,  how  to  keep  in — 436. 

Houses  and  Pens  for — 40,  41,  44,  46, 
123,  141,  180,  200,  229,  234,  246, 
253,  257,  289,  321,  366,  420,  425, 
477,  483,  525.  530,  551,  684,  727. 

Management  of — 15,  47,  60,  65,  76, 
121,  154,  229,  246,  268,  320,  329, 
367,  372,  390,  421,  446-  478,  504, 

525,  549,  601,  647,  716,  728,   758, 

762,  766,  792. 

Methods  of  Raising — 152. 
Millet  for  feed — 372. 
Poland  China — 15,    29,   31,  147,  228, 

243,  246,  251,  267,   284,   292,  316, 

326,  330,  334,   401,  533,   455,  471, 

482,  496,  501,  490,  485,  435,  521, 

758,  600. 
Poland    China    and    Berkshire — 43, 

152,  372,  377,  43"o,  445,  477.  766. 
Poland  China  and  Chester  White — 

569- 

Self-Feeder  for — 525. 

Sleeping  and  Breeding  Pens  for — 448. 

Sows,  Young — 229,  447,  506. 

Sour  Feed  for — 124. 

Stock  Hogs — 367. 

Tonic  for — 617. 
HOME — 391. 

Making  Attractive — I2O. 
HOMESTEADING — 379. 
HORSES — 81,  91,  251,  430,  434. 

Breeding — 86. 

Care  of— 358,  743. 


INDEX. 


805 


HORSES — Continued. 

Clydesdale — 31,  153,  257,495. 

Farm  work — 64,  377,  521. 

Feeding — 165,  560,  743. 

Mambrino — 533. 

Morgan — 61,  102. 

Norman — 75,  133,  319,  552,  556. 

Raising,  cost  of — 489. 

Stallion,  yard  for — 164. 
HOT  BED — 206. 
HOUSE. 

Where  to  Locate — 378. 

INDIANS— 354,  385. 

KANSAS. 
Coal — 410. 

Experiences  in — 341,  369. 
Fruit,  Success  with — 339. 
Stone — 421. 
Timber — 410. 
Winds  of — 379. 

LAND. 

Clod  Crusher  for — 364. 
Fallow — 775. 
Lettuce — 205. 
Planking — 168. 

MEADOWS — (see  Pastures  and) 
MELONS — 208,  535. 
MEMNONITES — 589. 
MILLET — 316,  372,  38,9,  425. 

Feed  for  Hogs — 372. 
MIXED  HUSBANDRY — 116,  134,  145. 
MULES — 87,  258. 

NURSERY — 512. 

OATS. 

Culture  of — 146,  226,  257,  332,  473 

568. 

Yield  of — 600. 
ONIONS — 514. 

Sowing  and  Culture  of — 515. 
ORCHARDS — 49,  57,  77,  119,  183,  310 
323,  333^  544.  593.  605,  624,  646, 
704,  798. 
Experience  with — 104,  544,  709. 


ORCHARDS —  Continued. 

How  to  Plant — 78,  708,  744. 

Income  from — 707. 

Mistakes  with — 708. 

Mulching — 468. 

Shelter  Belts  for — 185,  294. 

Time  to  Prune — 105. 

Quincunx — 398. 

Varieties   to  Plant — 108,   294,    334, 

362,  424,  432,  439,  460,744,  763. 
Yield  of— 707. 

PASTURES  AND  MEADOWS  —  27,  172, 
174,  536,  537,  646. 

Harrowing — 175.) 

How  to  Improve — 265. 

How  to  Make — 194,  222,  284. 

How  to  Restore — 173. 

Red  Top  for — 80. 

Top  Dressing  of — 230. 

Treatment  of — 36,  92,  134.  146,  284, 
314,  319,  456,  475,  518,  724,  741, 
791. 

Seeding  of — 494. 

Seed  for — 21,  223,  533. 

Value  of  old — 222. 

Yield  of— 176. 
PLOWING — 224,  517,  744. 

Fall— 421. 
PEACHES— in,  423,  511,  613. 

Varieties  of— 193. 

Orchard — 108. 
PEARS— 625,  679,  764,  797. 

Bearing  Trees — 465. 

Deep  Planting — 466. 

List  of — 467. 

Pruning — 466. 

Ripening — 466. 
PLUMS — 624,  679. 
POTATOES — 568,  796. 

Cultivation  of — 131,  242,  366,  422. 

Feed  for  Stock — 363. 

Sweet — in. 

POULTRY — 5,  8,  65,  77,  94,  122,  136. 
149,  150,  168,  251,  323,  359,  408, 
522,  543,  552,  556,  565,  648. 

Hen  House — 23,  254. 


806 


INDEX. 


POULTRY —  Continued. 

Turkeys — 137,  149. 
PRAIRIE. 

Breaking — 304,  630,  641. 

RACKS. 

Cattle — 779. 

Combined — 781. 

Feeding — 52,  328. 

Portable — 10. 
RANCH — 381. 

Round  Ups — 383. 
RASPBERRIES — 715. 
RYE — 407,  599. 

As  a  Fertilizer — 170. 

SCALES  (See  Farm) — 53. 
SEEDS. 

Mixing  of — 517. 
SHEEP. 
Breeds — Cotswold — 47,  60,  64,  280, 

409,  456,  496,  756. 
Cotswold  and  Merino — 37,  60. 
Leicester — 16,  43,  152,  233. 
Leicester  and  Merino — 711. 
Lincolnshire — 43,  251. 
Merino — 103,  136,  284,339,  725- 
South  Down — 127,  247,  562,  793. 
South  Down  and  Merino — 34. 
Cleanliness  with — 752. 
Constipation,  remedy  for — 793. 
Feed  and  care  of —  20,  361,  409,  496, 

513.  765. 

First  cross,  with  Merinos — 34. 

Flock  of,  how  to  grow — 33,  765. 

Foot  rot — 132,  694. 

Hoppers  for — 782. 

Housing  of — 752. 

Long  wool — 33. 

Profit  of— 62,  126,  132,  723. 

Racks  for  feeding — 20,  35,  103,  347, 
685,  726,  747,  750,  751,  752. 

Sheds  for — 180,  247,  254,  410,  414, 
685,  719,    726. 

Yards  for — 248. 
SPINACH — 210. 
SQUASH — 208. 


STANCHIONS— 163. 
STOCK. 

Gain  on  grass  of — 264. 
Handling  of — 93,  283. 
Herding  of — 472,  610. 
Improvement  of — 19,  445. 
Keep  the  best  of— 57,  85,  232,  271, 
Profits  of— 384,  387. 
Range  for — 385,  471. 
Rules  for  selling — 272. 
STRAW. 

Value  of  as  manure — 746. 
STRAWBERRIES — no,  192,  547,682,715. 
Cultivation  of — 657,  658. 
Gathering — 193,  659. 
Planting — 194. 
Transplanting — 657. 
Varieties  of — 683. 
SUGAR. 

Maple — 717. 
SWITCH. 

Gate — 162. 
SOIL  AND  CLIMATE. 
Illinois,  central — 72. 

Henry  county — 38. 

Lee  county — 116. 

Southern — 25,  99. 

Tazewell  county — 6l. 
Indiana,  Green  county — 772. 
Iowa,  Buena  Vista  county — 470. 

Missouri  valley — 510. 

Page  county — 480. 

Wayne — 498. 
Kansas,  climate  of — 316,  340. 

Delaware  Reserve — 359. 

Mitchell  county — 336. 

Northern — 348. 

Northwestern — 388. 

Southwestern — 408. 
Michigan,  Soil  of — 799. 
Minnesota,  Dodge  county — 534. 

Nobles  county — 574. 

Olmstead  county — 583. 
Missouri,  Boone  county  — 794. 
Nebraska,  Climate  of— 613,  618. 

Hamilton  county — 631. 


INDEX. 


807 


SOIL  AND  CLIMATE — Continued. 
Nebraska,  Soil  of— 640. 
Thayer  county — 632. 

THREE  RULES — 269. 
TOMATOES — 206. 
TRUCK  PATCH — 25. 

WATER — 17,  428. 

Appliances     for      Conveying  —  670, 
780. 

Artesian  Wells — 259. 

Artificial  Ponds — 783. 

Lakes — 433. 

Tanks — 329. 
WEEDS — 138. 

Canada  Thistle— 157. 


WHEAT,  SPRING. 
Cost  of  Growing — 450,451,579,  597, 

616,  632. 
Cultivation   of— 474,    535,    596,   615, 

634,  642. 

Fall  Plowing  for — 535. 
Harvesting  of — 635,  642. 
Yield  of— 578. 
WHEAT,  WINTER. 
Cleaning  of — 520. 
Cost  of  Raising — 332,  406.  407. 
Cultivation  of — 80,91,   94,   130,    139, 

276,  302,  308,   318,  325,  331,   366, 

374.  376,  389.  424,  795- 
Yield  of— 337,  350. 
WIND  BREAKS — 337,  517. 
WIND  MILLS — 53,  129,  528,  741,  781. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS-URBANA 

630P934M  C001 

THE  MODEL  FARMS  AND  THEIR  METHODS  CHGO 


30112025314375 


